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THE NEW YORK
BAR FOUNDATION

Welcome to the Dispute Resolution Section

The Dispute Resolution Section is now the New York State Bar Association's 24th Section. NYSBA members are invited and encouraged to join.

Section status recognizes the critical importance of negotiation, collaboration, mediation, neutral evaluation, arbitration and new and hybrid forms of dispute resolution in all areas of legal practice. The Section is a forum for improving these processes and the understanding of dispute resolution alternatives, for enhancing the proficiency of practitioners and neutrals and increasing the knowledge and availability of party-selected solutions.

The Section will serve this mission by:

  • Creating committees to explore and research developments in ethics, substantive law, and legislative initiatives relating to our shared interests
  • Sponsoring publication of analysis and opinion on dispute resolution processes
  • Providing continuing legal education and training to practitioners and neutrals
  • Promoting relevant legislation
  • Providing commentary on ethical issues affecting dispute resolution
  • Providing a venue for practitioners, law school faculty and students, and dispute resolution providers to network, exchange ideas, and to interact with other members of the Bar and to the public on issues relating to dispute resolution.

To join the section, please e-mail your request to drs@nysba.org. If you would like to join NYSBA, membership information is available here. For more information on joining this Section, please download our brochure (PDF).


Section News and Articles of Interest

New!

From the New York Times:

Section Reports

Use of Discovery in Arbitration Report:

The Dispute Resolution Section has issued a Report addressing a challenge presented to the Section by Immediate Past  President Bernice K. Leber.  The challenge concerned the dilemma faced by parties using arbitration who do not know in advance how discovery will be handled in their case.  To answer the challenge the Report contains Precepts to help arbitrators handle discovery in domestic commercial cases in a manner that reduces uncertainty and increases cost-effectiveness and fairness, consistent with the expectations of the parties who selected the arbitration process.  The Report also includes Factors an arbitrator should consider in determining the appropriate scope or discovery in a particular arbitration. View the report here.

Arbitration Fairness Act Report:

The Dispute Resolution Section issued a report  opposing many aspects of the Arbitration Fairness Act. The bill was supported in the last Congress by leading senators and over 100 members of the house; it would invalidate pre-dispute arbitration agreements for consumers, employees and franchises disputes and for disputes "arising under any statute intended to protect civil rights or to regulate contracts or transactions between parties of unequal bargaining power."

Just imagine what that covers.

The statute further overturns for all arbitration, not just the designated classes, the established division of authority between the court and the arbitrator (separability and competence-competence). It provides that:

"An issue as to whether this chapter applies to an arbitration agreement shall be determined by Federal law. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the validity or enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate shall be determined by the court, rather than the arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement"

Virtually every arbitration could end up in court and the 40 years of precedents following the seminal Supreme Court decision in Prima Paint woud be overruled.

The bill is likely to be reintroduced in Congress in the next month or two.  Please review the proposal here and become involved in the issue.

 

Upcoming Events
01/28/2010
Dispute Resolution Section Annual Meeting
 
03/24/2010 - 03/25/2010
Bridging the Gap 1 - Making a Smooth Transition (NYC)
 
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