Center for Dispute Resolution Co-Director Wheeler Presents at Ohio Forums on the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators

June 18, 2004

The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, the Ohio Community Mediation Association, the Ohio State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Committee, the Ohio Mediation Association, the Mediation Association of Northeast Ohio and the Supreme Court of Ohio Dispute Resolution Section held three forums to discuss the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators. The forums were held in Dayton, Cleveland and Columbus during May and June 2004.

The Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators were adopted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the American Bar Association’s Section of Dispute Resolution (ABA), and the Association of Conflict Resolution (ACR) (the successor to the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR) in 1994. These Standards have served as a foundation for many other statements of ethics and conduct in the mediation field. Last year the AAA, ABA and ACR announced the formation of a Joint Committee, which consists of two members from each organization, to review and suggest revisions to the Model Standards. The Joint Committee released the first revision of the Model Standards in January 2004.

The Ohio forums allowed individuals interested in mediation to provide comments directly to two Committee members: Terry Wheeler, who is one of the ACR representatives to the Joint Committee, and Joseph Stulberg, who serves as the Reporter to the Joint Committee. Josh Stulberg is a professor of law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Terry Wheeler is a Columbus attorney with Artz & Dewhirst and Co-Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution at Capital University Law School.