September 2003

NEWSCASTER
Ohio Mediation Association

A Bi-Monthly Publication September 2003

President: Martha Antolik (937) 264-2336 E-mail: w004mla@woh.rr.com
President Elect/Newscaster Editor: Shirley Cochran (513) 732-7397 Fax: (614) 863-4775 E-mail: scochran@insight.rr.com or scochran@co.clermont.oh.us
Vice President: Jay Patterson (614) 447-8564 E-mail: jsphaedrus@ameritech.net
Treasurer: Dan DeStephen (913) 775-2067 Fax (937) 775-6152 E-mail: dandestephen@wright.edu
Secretary: Sheri Center (614) 231-1855 Fax (614) 864-1818 E-mail: findingcommonground@yahoo.comMark your Calendars for our exciting 2003-2004 meetings!!

October 3, 2003 WAVE: youth peer mediators organization from Cleveland, Ohio who were recognized by the White House. Carol Close, Coordinator and several peer mediators will be at our meeting

December 5, 2003 Victoria Solomon, J.D., L.I.S.W., will be presenting “Ten Gifts a Mediator Brings to the Table”.

February 5, 2004 TBA

March 26, 2004 Annual Meeting at Fawcett Center OSU The Future of Credentialing and What it Means to Ohio Mediators. NOTE DIFFERENT DATE AND LOCATION THAN REGULAR MEETINGS!

All meetings to be held at 11:30 AM at the MCL Cafeteria at Westerville and Schrock Roads in Westerville until further notice (Directions on back page)

Editorial Note: Normally when I use articles written and published elsewhere, I note the source and through an error last newsletter, an article was used without reference. The article “Dispute Resolution Clauses Keep the Faith” was from the ABA (American Bar Association) Journal e-Report of Friday May 30, 2003. I apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused.

Chinese idiom: Turn a large issue into a small one, then turn the small one into none.

President’s Column
By Martha Antolik

The end of summer is approaching fast—schools are starting again and the days are lengthening. Before we know it, we’ll be welcoming in a new year!

But some things are constant. OMA still meets the first Friday of the even-designated months of October and December, at the MCL Cafeteria. Directions to our meeting place, and a phone number for the location, can be found elsewhere in this publication. Please join us—your presence is not only welcomed but encouraged.

In fact, what we hope is different this fall is that more of you DO join us for our meetings. If you have ideas for topics of for speakers, please let Sandy Fredrick know. Her contact information is in this newsletter. You can also pass on your ideas to any of OMA’s officers.

We hope to catch up with you at our October meeting, as the leaves start to fall and a chill returns to the air. Help us to greet the WAVE mediators who will be on hand to talk about what they do as peer mediators.

Couple Has FLARE for Resolving Conflict
By Cathy Kuhl

A mediator can learn a lot about conflict resolution from the parties in mediation. I had such an opportunity when I mediated a complaint between a boyfriend and girlfriend last year.

When Jack and Jill (these names are not the parties’ names) walked into the mediation room, they appeared very comfortable and at ease with each other. After beginning the session with the typical mediation introduction, I was not surprised when Jack and Jill told me that they had resolved their dispute. I told them I was glad to hear that they had worked things out, but asked them to tell me a bit about the nature of the dispute and what they did to resolve it. They described an incident that involved a classic argument that couples have over a minor matter. They both agreed that each had said things that each regretted.

I asked what they did to resolve the matter and they said they talked it over and came up with a method for insuring that their future conflicts wouldn’t escalate. Jack looked at Jill and said, “We send up a flare, right?” Intrigued by Jack’s comment, I asked them to explain. Jack explained that it was an acronym that stands for all the things that are important in their relationship; Jill said that the acronym stands for “Friendship”, “Listening”, “Affection”, “Respect”, and “Enjoy each other”. Whenever Jack or Jill feels like they are having an argument that could escalate, they agreed that either can “send up a FLARE”. That is a sign for them both to take a figurative step back, and take a moment to evaluate what’s involved in the dispute in light of what’s important to each of them.

I was so impressed with the simple elegance of this plan for resolving conflict that I asked Jack and Jill if I could share their plan with other mediators. They agreed, so I am sharing it with you!

A Different Type of Conflict Resolution?
By Ken Wildman

(The first is a series of articles by members concerning what we do when we are not mediating, whether or not it has anything to do with conflict resolution. Send your stories for future publication so we can learn more about our members. Editor)

My original training was in biological psychology with a second area of behavioral analysis. I started my teaching and research career during the Viet Nam war and quickly found that research support in the biological sciences was extremely limited. I re-focused my research and professional activities on behavioral analysis and behavior management. During a 34-year college teaching/administrative career I also provided consulting services in behavior modification ranging from children with disordered behaviors to general management consulting.

I had been interested in Conflict Resolution from a behavioral perspective for a number of years. I’ve also enjoyed, among other areas, the sport of Boxing. In 1997 I pursued my interests in both these areas by achieving certification in arbitration and a license to judge professional boxing events in Ohio.

Judging for the Ohio Boxing Commission has its own special rewards. You get in to events free, you have the best seat in the house (on a high stool at ringside), you get to decide who wins, and you are paid for your participation. For a sports fan it can’t get much better.

In 2000 I completed the circle through training in General and Divorce Mediation. Following retirement from my academic career I have been engaged in the private practice of mediation. The running joke among friends and associates is that I will take on conflict resolution at any level. I will mediate, arbitrate, or if nothing else works let the participants duke it out while I judge their performance. In reality, I prefer mediation because it sets mutually satisfying resolution as its target.

I have a number of other interests that keep me occupied. Gluttons for punishment or the terminally bored can visit my personal web page at: Http://www2.onu.edu/~kwildman

State Court Funding Crisis

In response to the escalating funding crises facing our state justice systems, the American Bar Association has launched a new initiative to help leaders of the bench and bar communicate the critical importance of adequate resources for courts. The ABA has long worked to strengthen and protect the justice system at both the federal and state levels. Of particular concern has been the continued independence of the judiciary, a value that is indispensable to our democratic republic. A large part of that independence lies in courts having consistent, adequate funding to deliver justice. As part of this initiative, the ABA has compiled a toolkit to serve as a resource for state and local bars and others addressing the challenges raised by current fiscal constraints. The toolkit, “State Court Funding Crisis,” is available on the ABA web site, at http://www.abanet.org/jd/courtfunding/home.html. I hope that the resources offered in this toolkit will be of use to you as you communicate the urgency of adequate funding of state courts to policymakers, opinion leaders and your communities. We join with you to guarantee that our courts will continue to meet the needs of our communities and ensure justice for all. If you have any questions about the toolkit, please contact the ABA Justice Center by telephone at (312) 988-5147 or by email to abajc@abanet.org. Thank you for your interest. With all best wishes, Alfred P. Carlton, Jr. President, 2002-2003 American Bar Association

Monthly Presenters for OMA by Sandra Fredrick

I wanted to let the members of the Ohio Mediation Association aware that I will be coordinating the monthly presenters for our organization. I am very interested in any appealing presenters and if you feel you have a new program or approach that you would want to share with your peers it would be appreciated Please contact me with ideas as well The following are ways to contact me: Sandra Fredrick, (937) 225-4099 or I can be reached by e-mail at fredricks@mc.ohio.org I look forward to hearing from you

New Members and Additions/Corrections to the Directory:

New and renewing members may send applications to OMA’s President Elect, Shirley Cochran at 2897 Liberty Bell Lane, Reynoldsburg OH 43068 Contact Shirley for membership applications or to provide updated addresses, phone numbers, etc, for OMA’s mailing lists and directory. A membership application can be sent electronically for your convenience or you can download it from the OMA website www.mediateohio.org. What follows is the list of all members, new and renewing as of August 21, 2003. If there is a correction or addition, please let Shirley know.

Settlement Negotiations’ Privilege Upheld by Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by Shirley A. Cochran, JD. Although not a mediation case, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the privilege of settlement negotiations from a US District Court Case started in Akron. In The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company v Chiles Power Supply (No. 01-3873) 2003 FED App. 0197P (6^th Cir.), the issue presented was whether statements made in furtherance of settlement are privileged and protected from third-party discovery. The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the District Court and found that they are. The District Court had presided over settlement negotiations and had admonished that all talks were to remain confidential. The negotiations were unsuccessful and the case went to jury verdict. At one point the Court ordered one party not to disclose anything further about the negotiations noting “that ‘the content of settlement discussions are always confidential’ and may never be disseminated, even after a case is closed.” The Court’s main reliance was on Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (Ohio has basically the same rule for state courts), and cites to a case that was a mediation case, Affiliated Mfrs., Inc. v Aluminum Co. of Am., (3^rd Cir. 1995), 56 F. 3d 521, at 526. That court stated “The integrity of the mediation process depends on the confidentiality of discussions and offers made therein.” [This case was brought to the author’s attention by an article by Molly McDonough in the ABA Journal E-report dated Thursday, July 3, 2003.]

The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Mediation Section of Mediate.com announces a new collection of articles on the cutting edge issue of Capacity to Mediate, three of them reprinted from the June 2003 issue of “Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation:” Kathleen Blank on the danger of narrowly identifying capacity to mediate as a disability issue. A recommended revision of the Model Standards of Conduct, submitted by the ADR Committee and the Committee on Legal Issues Affecting People with Disabilities of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, addressing the current bias that mediation capacity has a primary impact on people with disabilities. Timothy K. Hedeen on self-determination as a defining characteristics of mediation. Erica Wood on assuring that parties can understand the process and abide by the outcome. Patricia “Pattie” Porter on tools that mediators can use to help parties ensure their full participation in the mediation. Ellen Waldman on the difficult question of mediator responsibility when a surrogate appears to be pursuing a different agenda from the party. Please go to www.mediate.com/adamediation to read these compelling articles. Discussion of the articles, and further development of the ideas addressed, is welcome on this discussion list and on the ADA Mediation Forum. Judy Cohen, Editor ADA Mediation Section, Mediate.com

Networking & Resource Center for Mediation Program Managers — Build the Quality of Your Mediators The Keybridge Foundation, in collaboration with CRInfo and funded by the Hewlett Foundation, is pleased to announce the launch of the Clearinghouse for Mediation Program Managers website. This website will enable mediation program managers to network with other programs, share knowledge and expertise, and exchange information about current mediator management practices. Our focus is on assisting program managers as they create and manage rosters of mediators. Please visit the site at www.crinfo.com/mediation-program-managers. If you manage a roster, fill out our questionnaire of Mediation Program Roster Practices so that we can begin to collect data for the Clearinghouse. The data from many programs will in turn be helpful for you in developing or improving your own program. Whether the program serves a court system, community mediation center, state or federal agency, or private referrals, the Clearinghouse provides links, articles, and tools to support mediation program managers. Please direct feedback to adr@keybridge.org.