St. John's University Law Faculty Blog

Professor Elayne Greenberg, Assistant Dean for Dispute Resolution Programs at St. John’s University School of Law, Director of the Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution, and former chair of NYBSA’s Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution was quoted in the New York Commercial Litigator Insider on the proposed mandatory mediation pilot program in New York County’s Commercial Division.   Although, Professor Greenberg is in favor of increasing the use of mediation and applauds the New York courts’ effort, she expressed concern that “the randomness of the referral undermines the importance of referring appropriate cases to the appropriate ADR process and diminishes the likelihood that the mediation referral will be a meaningful one.”  Here’s an excerpt:

“The idea of one in five doesn’t deal with the real issue of trying to encourage more cases to go into mediation. If there is still resistance by judges who don’t understand which cases would be appropriate or don’t feel comfortable ordering people into mediation, let’s deal with that resistance in a more meaningful way,” she said. “And if there are lawyers who are reluctant to bring their cases into mediation, let’s educate these lawyers and address their concerns.”
“Ideally, in the perfect world for all dispute resolution, the ethical underpinning is party self-determination,
party choice,” Greenberg added. “If people are informed, educated and understand the opportunities
mediation provides, they’re more likely to want to use mediation. For lawyers, the mediation process
provides a welcome opportunity to minimize risks and shape outcomes.”

Associate Professor of Clinical Legal Education Jennifer Baum is speaking on a panel at Fordham Law School’s Eighteenth Annual Conference on Domestic Violence today, Monday, March 3, 2014.   The panel, “Post Separation Abuse: The Use and Impact of the Hague Convention During International Custody Disputes,” will address the rights of abuse survivors and their children under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.  Professor Baum, the Director of the St. John’s School of Law Child Advocacy Clinic, is appearing as an expert on children’s rights and remedies in international custody cases involving allegations of domestic violence.