ROUNDTABLE BREAKFAST: Opportunistic Distortions of Mediation

ACR-GNY & CUNY Dispute Resolution Center at John Jay College present

Opportunistic Distortions of Mediation

We all know that there are many variations of mediation that nonetheless represent legitimate examples of the process. But there are now instances in which the incentives adopted by legislatures and courts to encourage the use of mediation seem to be inviting opportunistic distortion and even misuse. Examples include “drive-by mediation” in Texas, “binding mediation” in California (and a few other states), and lawyers’ use of the mediation privilege as a shield from clients’ legal malpractice claims (again in California). Will some of these distortions make their way into other states and even into international commercial mediation as parties seek expedited enforcement under the Singapore Convention? At what point should we care about these distortions of the process?

PROFESSOR NANCY A. WELSH

Nancy A. Welsh is the Frank W. Elliott, Jr. University Professor, Professor of Law and Director of the Aggie Dispute Resolution Program at Texas A&M University School of Law. She was previously the William Trickett Faculty Scholar and Professor of Law at Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law. Professor Welsh is a leading scholar and teacher of dispute resolution and procedural law. She examines negotiation, mediation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and dispute resolution in U.S. and international contexts, focusing on self-determination, procedural justice, due process, and institutionalization dynamics. Professor Welsh presents nationally and internationally and has written more than 70 articles and chapters that have appeared in law reviews, professional publications and books. Professor Welsh is also co-author of the fourth, fifth and sixth editions of the leading dispute resolution textbook, Dispute Resolution and Lawyers, and co-editor of Evolution of a Field: Personal Histories in Conflict Resolution. She succeeded Harvard Law Professor Frank Sander as co-chair of the Editorial Board of the Dispute Resolution Magazine, conducted research as a Fulbright Scholar in the Netherlands, and has served as Chair of both the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and the AALS Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. She is a member of the American Law Institute and an American Bar Foundation Fellow. Before joining the legal academy, Professor Welsh was the executive director of Mediation Center in Minnesota and practiced law with Leonard, Street and Deinard. She has advised state legislatures, federal and state agencies, and courts regarding the institutionalization of dispute resolution, conducted empirical research, convened roundtables and symposia on various dispute resolution topics, and served as a mediator, facilitator and arbitrator. Professor Welsh earned her B.A. magna cum laude from Allegheny College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She was admitted to the bar of the state of Minnesota in 1982.

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