I am pleased and proud to have become a Member Panelist of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution. That’s a mouthful. All you need to remember is “CPR”, as in www.cpradr.org.

I have written about CPR in the past, and been engaged through them in a handful of ADR matters. I think CPR is an outstanding, and intriguing, organization. CPR provides a meaningfully different ADR resource for you and your clients than that offered by any other organization (notably AAA or JAMS).

While CPR offers a wide range of diverse rules and procedures so that you can “fit the forum to the fuss”, the true distinction in CPR’s model is it allows arbitration to be conducted at a lower cost than what you are probably used to. If you are proceeding to arbitration under CPR rules, your client will most likely not incur “case management fees” or “administrative fees”, which in the real world of arbitration these days can be daunting.

I hope you will investigate CPR, become familiar with their rules, and consider incorporating a CPR dispute-resolution clause in future contracts you are drafting for clients. And I am always delighted to answer any questions you may have about ADR in general, and CPR in particular.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to serve as the presiding judge for an in-house mock trial, presented to lawyers and claims handlers for an insurance company. The trial roles of counsel and witnesses were covered by experienced trial counsel, and the purpose was not so much to train them as to give the audience a chance to watch, and discuss, the reality of a courtroom proceeding.
Like every other mock trial or summary jury trial I have ever been involved with, the “mock” nature seemed to quickly disappear and the adversarial, competitive elements of a “real” trial took over. Pretty soon it was clear that both sides wanted to win, and when the 8-person jury returned it’s verdict late in the afternoon, there were high-fives at one counsel table, and real dejection at the other. It was a lot of fun, and very educational.

If you have any interest in offering an in-house mock trial at your firm, either for a CLE or focus group purpose, I would be delighted to assist.