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16 Alternative Resol. 1 (2007)

handle is hein.barjournals/altresolut0016 and id is 1 raw text is: STATE BAR OF TEXAS ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SECTION Winter 2007 CHAIR'S CORNER By John Charles Fleming, Chair, ADR Section John Charles Fleming The 80'h Texas Legislature is underway, and as of the first weekend in February, over 1,000 bills have al- ready been filed. Many of these bills will die before reaching the floor of either chamber for debate. This year marks the 200 anni- versary of the passing of the Texas ADR Act, which survived the 70& Texas Legislature and made a big difference in all of our lives. I think that the Act has well stood the test of time, and continues to pro- vide a strong statutory in- frastructure to support and promote the alternative resolution of disputes. The ADR section will be a co-sponsor of the American Bar Association's Ad- vanced Mediation Skills Training, which will be held in October in San An- tonio. This program should be of significant interest to all of our members. In the planning sessions, I am very pleased when ADR professionals from across the country always com- ment about the strength of ADR in Texas. On a recent phone call, a former chair of the ABA Dispute Reso- lution Section referred to Texas as a mature ADR state. On the one hand, I was quite proud of what you all have helped accom- plish. On the other hand, I was cognizant that mature, if not continually nurtured, can become stale or stagnant. And here lies the continu- ing challenge for the ADR Section as we move into the next twenty years. One of the challenges !sot' continue to embrace ne ways of doing dispute reso- lution. Collaborative law in the family law area. is- moving from promise to fulfillment, and thanks to Larry Maxwell, Sherrie Abney and others, collabo- rative law is moving to expand into other areas of disputing as well. To date, the most interest- ing ADR bill introduced is Senator Wentworth's Sen- ate Bill 160 on employer ombudsman programs. The bill is a thoughtful at- tempt to address confidenti- ality of infor~mation in an employment setting. This area of the law is unclear, and the lack of clarity may impede the implementation and appropriate utilization of these programs. The bill also highlights the conflict- ing concerns raised by these programs by permit- ting the ombuds to disclose information where there is an imminent threat of harm to an employee. Whether the bill strikes the right balance between the need for confidentiality and le- gitimate competing inter- ests will be a subject of interest to the Section. Inside this issue: El Paso Court of Appeals Admonishes Trial Cour's Failure to Rul on Employer's Motion to Compel Arbitration..................... 2 The State of Mediation Confidentiality In Celifornie Following the Decisions in Srnas v hmded.-..............................--3 Submission Otes for Upcoming Issues of Alterntive Resolutions .......... ..... . Federal Court In Michigan Defends Confidentiality, The Heart of the ADR Process.................. ... . ........6 Supreme Court of California Holds Mediation Settlement Agreements, To be Admissible, Must Directly State They Are Enforceble or Binding........................ ....... 7 2007 Calender of Events................... Fifth Cicuit Reexamines Standard for finding Evident Partiality Under the Federal ArbitrationA .................. 9 Cluse Requiring Out-Of.Stete Medaton or Arbitrotion Prier to Lfigation Not Enferceable in Californie, Per Decision In TeaPltC O*V.t , v. Dkk EsnudEIM ~..-' .......1 Combining Collaborative Law end Patenl Safety Programs: A Propsail for the Use of Parallel Processes to Facilitate Early Detection of Safety Issues and Early Reparafion for lnjurytCaing and Near Miss Episodes . . ............................. 13 Reflections From the Edge: Settlement A..o.cy21 Medial 's Advances end Backward Movemeats: .Peon Experiences in Brazil, Argetine, Paragua, Portagal and Angola... .. . ............ 23 Beok Review................. ...27 Ethical Puzzler.. ... . . ............. 29 ADR on the Web: civilrightsmedlatlon.org ...........................32 Encourage Colleagues to Join................ 33 Alternative Resolutions Publications Policies.. .................................................. 34 Alternative Resolutions Policies for Listings Of Training Programs ................ 34 2006-20W7 Officers £ Council Members......3S Alternative Dispute Resolution Section....36 Vol. 16, No 1

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