Capital University Law School Holds Training for Minority Mediators and Arbitrators

June 22, 2006

Nearly 150 people came together from June 5-9 at the Capital University Law School campus in downtown Columbus, OH to attend the 2006 Training Institute for Minority Professionals in Alternative Dispute Resolution. Hosted by Capital University Law School with major partnership from American Arbitration Association, the Nationwide Foundation, and Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP/Estabrook Charitable Trust, the conference offered workshops to accommodate various levels of experience among minority professionals. Topics covered a wide range of dispute resolution areas, including family, divorce and custody mediation, domestic abuse issues, basics mediation, labor arbitration, mediating healthcare and insurance disputes and afrocentric mediation.

“This conference is an initiative to increase the presence of minority professionals at all levels and in all areas of alternative dispute resolution,” said Floyd Weatherspoon, professor of law and director of minority ADR initiatives at Capital.

These trainings were designed to enhance the skills of participants as minority ADR professionals and provide invaluable networking and mentoring opportunities. It was one of several initiatives that Capital University Law School has launched to increase the presence of minority professionals at all levels in the field of alternative dispute resolution. Capital sponsored the first Statewide Conference for Minority Professionals in ADR in 2002, two National Conferences in 2003 and 2005, and the first Training Institute in 2004. The Institute, building upon the positive reception and supportive evaluations of the prior conferences, is designed to offer specific threshold trainings in selected areas of ADR, preparing minority participants for advancement within the field.

Other sponsors included: The National Arbitration Forum for sponsoring the training of Mediating & Arbitrating Healthcare and Insurance Disputes; Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service for sponsoring the Labor Arbitration training; The Supreme Court of Ohio for sponsoring the Domestic Abuse Issues and the Family, Divorce, and Custody Mediation trainings; The National Bar Association; DRI the national organization for defense trial lawyers and corporate counsel, for sponsorship of the networking reception on June 6; NASD Dispute Resolution for sponsoring breakfast on June 5; and Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law for sponsoring scholarships.

For more information, visit the conference Web site at www.law.capital.edu/adr, or contact Floyd Weatherspoon at (614) 236-6531, or via e-mail at adrconference@law.capital.edu.