Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Week, November 9-13, 2015, at Washburn University School of Law provides students, practitioners, and judges the opportunity to learn about current and developing ADR issues. In addition to ADR in general, presentations this year will focus on mediation aspects. Attendees will receive broad exposure to various ADR and mediation issues and how to apply mediation in a wide variety of cases and practice areas. Alternative Dispute Resolution Week is sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Advocacy.
Unless indicated, all presentations begin at 12:10 p.m. in Room 102.
Monday, November 9
The Dispute Resolution Triage Program in the 9th Judicial District of Kansas (Harvey & McPherson County)
The Honorable Richard Walker and Dan Wassink will discuss the 9th Judicial District's innovative triage process that determines if certain court matters related to family separation and divorce, including parenting disputes, are actually appropriate for the mediation process or should move to other, more appropriate, resolution processes.
The Honorable Richard Walker was a partner in the law firm Adrian and Walker from 1973 to 1977. He then served as chief legislative assistant to the late U.S. Senator from Kansas, James Pearson. Judge Walker later served as vice chairman on the Kansas Adult Authority (now the Kansas Parole Board) and later was a partner with the firm Ice, Turner and Ice. Judge Walker was appointed to the Ninth Judicial District bench in December 1984 and served for 30 years until retiring as Chief Judge in July 2015. Judge Walker received his bachelor of arts degree in history from Bethel College in 1970 and received his juris doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1973.
Dan Wassink joined the staff of the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR) as senior mediator and facilitator in July 2014. He is in the process of becoming a Kansas Supreme Court-approved mediator, and will assist in providing conflict resolution training to the many constituencies served by KIPCOR. He seeks to use his experience and education to strengthen the KIPCOR's core mission, expand its portfolio, and learn new skills he can apply on behalf of KIPCOR and the many groups and individuals it serves. He also serves as a facilitator, with a focus on fostering collaboration among diverse groups and individuals seeking to reach consensus around a broad spectrum of public policy issues. Wassink spent more than two years in Albania as a community development specialist with the U.S. Peace Corps and later enrolled in graduate school at Marquette University, earning a Master in Dispute Resolution degree in 2012. He has extensive experience resolving landlord-tenant disputes as a volunteer mediator in small claims court on behalf of the Tenant Resource Center in Madison, Wisconsin. He also owned his own mediation and facilitation business.
Tuesday, November 10
Current ADR Practice Under the Kansas Courts and Upcoming Changes
Dawn Rouse will talk about the current status of alternative dispute resolution practice with the Kansas Courts and upcoming changes and improvements. She will explain the process of certification with the Kansas Supreme Court and ongoing requirements and expectations of mediators in Kansas.
Dawn Rouse is dispute resolution coordinator with the Kansas Judicial Branch. She has been with the Office of Judicial Administration since 1998. Rouse serves as a court improvement specialist and the director of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Office of Judicial Administration's Family and Children Division. Her responsibilities include the Court Improvement Programs and Alternative Dispute Resolution. She serves as staff to the Supreme Court Task Force on Permanency Planning and the Advisory Council on Dispute Resolution. Rouse graduated from Emporia State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Affairs and received her Masters of Science in Legal Administration from Denver University College of Law.
Wednesday, November 11
Writing for Mediation (Lunch and Learn)
Jerry Palmer will discuss how students and young attorneys should focus on preparing for a mediation at the same level they would prepare for a trial since cases are likely be resolved at that point in the process. Good advocacy requires developing the skill of writing for mediation. The presentation will be made from a third party neutral perspective and address the kind of mediation writing that can help to best advocate for the client through mediation.
Jerry R. Palmer, Palmer Mediation, L.L.C. and Palmer, Leatherman, White, Girard & Van Dyk, L.L.P., specializes in mediation of complicated business disputes, construction disputes, medical malpractice, and product liability. Other areas of expertise include defamation, professional liability, explosion and property damage claims, disability insurance, partnership dissolution, employment and contract issues, and general tort. Palmer has resolved hundreds of complex disputes. He lectures in both professional and academic forums on the subject of mediation. Palmer is recognized by the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, and is certified by the Kansas Supreme Court as a mediator for core and civil cases.
Mediation Panel Discussion (Dinner (Early) and Learn Program) - Room 114 - 5:15-7:15 p.m.
The Mediation class taught by adjunct professors Linda Laird and Aline Barrett will host a panel of three active practitioners who will talk about mediation practice. Pizza will be provided.
Jerry R. Palmer – See above.
Emily A. Hartz has been of counsel with Sloan Law Firm since 2010. She joined Sloan with a wealth of experience, having worked for the Shawnee County District Attorney's office prosecuting domestic violence cases during her third year at Washburn University School of Law; and following graduation, having opened a law office focusing on general trial practice including family, criminal, and juvenile law. Hartz also practiced law in Kansas City, Missouri as national trial counsel defending personal injury and toxic tort cases in a variety of jurisdictions throughout the country. She presently focuses her practice in the areas of domestic relations, juvenile law, criminal defense, wills, and small business. Hartz is a trained guardian ad litem, practicing in both juvenile and domestic courts, and is a Supreme Court approved domestic relations mediator and a domestic relations case manager for high-conflict parents.
Ronnie Beach, Ed.S., is owner of Conflict Resolution Services, Inc., an entity specializing in serving high-conflict families. These services partially include mediation, conciliation, parent coordination, supervised parenting, parent coaching, educational training, and mentoring. As a certified school psychologist in Missouri and Kansas, he serves as a special education mediator. Beach has mediated over 2,000 cases. His advanced degrees are in Psychology and Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution. Beach teaches mediation and social psychology at Avila University and conflict management and mediation in the graduate program at Park University. He is past president of Heartland Mediators Association (HMA) and the current president of the Association of Missouri Mediators (AMM).
Friday, November 13
Introduction to Restorative Justice
Professor Joanne Katz will lead students though an in-depth discussion and exploration of the role of restorative justice in our current criminal justice system. The discussion will examine the crisis created by overuse of incarceration in dealing with criminal behavior in the United States, and will explore the use restorative justice and other community-based alternatives.
Joanne Katz, J.D., is a professor of legal studies in the Department of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies & Social Work at Missouri Western State University. Professor Katz has researched, presented, and published on issues related to restorative justice, mediation, and collaborative processes for over 25 years. She has received several research grants, and has studied issues related to restorative justice in juvenile courts and stakeholder attitudes about restorative justice and the criminal justice system. Katz is a founding member of the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice and serves on its Board. She is the Chair of the Section on Restorative and Community Justice for the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In 2009, she was awarded the rank of Distinguished Professor for her work in Restorative Justice.