Monthly Archives: May 2006

Last summer I directed mediators seeking variety in their ho-hum routines to a course on Exopolitics 102: Citizen Diplomacy with Extraterrestrials, available through Exopolitics.org, a web site devoted to exploring “the political implications of the extraterrestrial presence”. (I swear I am not making this up.)

I was therefore vastly amused to learn through the dispute-res listserv (for subscription information, click here) that the instructor of this course, Dr. Michael Salla, has even bigger plans: a conference of international experts to discuss intergalactic diplomacy with extraterrestrial civilizations and its implications for world peace. You can read all about it here.

(By the way, for those of you who didn’t make the application deadline for last year’s course, Dr. Salla is offering “Exopolitics 102″ again. Class starts today.)

When I began blogging in January 2005 (practically the equivalent of a century in cyberspace), only three other regularly published alternative dispute resolution blogs existed (Perry Itkin’s Florida Mediator, Bill Warter’s Campus ADR Tech Tools, and the odr.info blog).

Although the ADR field hasn’t experienced the boom of blogging that the legal profession has enjoyed, the population of ADR bloggers is slowly but steadily increasing, as my ongoing web-based project, the Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs, will attest.

It’s therefore always exciting when I get to announce the discovery of a new alternative dispute resolution blog. Regina Mullen, a Michigan-based attorney-mediator, has launched the ADR Diversity Blog, together with an ambitious online venture, ADR Diversity. Under construction at this time, the ADR Diversity site aims to bring together a multitude of voices and viewpoints across the spectrum of ADR practice.

Please join me in welcoming Regina to the ADR blogosphere and wishing her success in this project.

Technorati tags: alternative dispute resolution, blogging, conflict resolution, mediation, mediation blogs

My friend, Florida Mediator Perry Itkin, was kind enough to alert me to his recent post about important changes to the rules in Florida governing the certification of mediators providing services through the Florida court system.

The Florida Supreme Court last week adopted proposed amendments to Florida’s Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators. These amendments, which go into effect on August 1, replace the current mediator certification requirements with a new certification requirements “point system”.

All mediators seeking certification must meet the requirements of “good moral character” and the minimum age of 21 and then must obtain a total of 100 points in the areas of mediation training, education and mediation experience, mentorship, and miscellaneous activities, as outlined for each category of mediator.

According to the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion (in PDF), “the practical effect of this new point system is to remove the more formal mandatory education and profession-based requirements, for example, the current requirement for a family mediator of a masters, doctorate, medical, or law degree, or certified public accountant license, and to allow applicants to obtain certification in a variety of different ways more directly related to the actual skills and experience the Committee has determined to be necessary for service as an effective mediator.”

The Court, however, will unfortunately (in my own view) continue to require that certified circuit court mediators be members of the Florida Bar or a retired trial judge from any U.S. jurisdiction, unless input from the Florida Bar at some future point suggests otherwise.

Let us hope that Florida gives this final issue the serious reflection it deserves, with input from not only the Bar but from other members of the ADR community; after all, many of us believe strongly that mediators bring the greatest value not so much through subject matter expertise but rather through their skill and experience as process experts. And no profession has a monopoly on the ability to provide that.

(If this is your first visit to this blog, please click here for further information on mediator certification and credentialing.)

Technorati tags: mediation, mediation training, mediator certification