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18 Alternative Resol. 1 (2009)

handle is hein.barjournals/altresolut0018 and id is 1 raw text is: STATE BAR OF TEXAS ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SECTION CHAIR'S CORNER By John K. Boyce, III, Chair, ADR Section Vol. 18, No. 1 Winter 2009 I am returning from our Ad- vanced Media- tion Conference, which took place in Hous- ton on Friday, January 30. It was a resound- ing success. The presenters are among the finest mediators in the John K. Boyce, III United States. Randy Lowry, president of Lipscomb University, is the foun- der of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolu- tion at Pepperdine University. Peter Robin- son is current managing director of the Straus Institute, which is consistently ranked as one of the top centers in the country. Both have worked together as a team for years. The conference was all about experience. Randy and Peter were everything we had been led to expect-and more. They were charis- matic, energetic men of integrity. They illus- trated advanced techniques with real-life ex- amples every bit as nuanced as the technique they demonstrated. I have never seen any- thing like it. The audience contributed its experience. The Council honored Randy and Peter with a dinner the previous evening. The conference was unique for two additional reasons, both firsts for the Bar: one, its in- teractive format between presenters and par- ticipants-no talking heads, panels, or role playing; and, second, it was financially under- written by three cosponsoring organizations: Texas BarCLE, our ADR Section, and the American Arbitration Association. At a time when live CLE attendance is down. registra- tion for this conference exceeded predictions. At lunch, Joe Cope gave an engaging presen- tation on the ethics of power in mediation. He ended with a great clip from the Bob Newhart Show to drive home his points. Council met the previous afternoon for its quarterly meeting. Of the many items we dis- cussed, there are two to bring to your atten- tion. As predicted in previous Chair's Corners, arbitration is already a hot topic at the Texas Legislature and Congress. Senator Royce West has filed Senate Bill 222, which would dramatically amend the Texas General Arbi- tration Act to do away with arbitration in con- sumer, employment, and franchise disputes (among other proposals). You can track the bill beginning at www.legis.state.tx.us/ Home.asox. (Click MyTLO and customize.) There are bills expected to be filed in Con- gress which would be even broader and deny pre-dispute arbitration in cases of unequal bargaining power. I cannot say what a threat this presents to the system of dispute resolution that has been in place for over eighty years. In response, the Council adopted a White Paper prepared by John Allen Chalk, Sr. et al., which is an em- pirical study of arbitration. It is not a position statement; rather, it is an objective resource to be used in addressing the misunderstanding about arbitration's role in the dispute resolu- tion spectrum. As you are aware, by law we as a Section cannot advocate for or against bills. We can, however, serve as a resource. This role can be every bit as valuable, not only because of our hands-on expertise but also because of our objectivity (i.e., we are not pushing an agenda). We encourage all members to serve as resources with their elected officials. I encourage you to use the White Paper which you will find on the Section's website (http://www.texasadr.org/ index.html). You will be surprised how little continued on page 26 Inside This Issue: Arbitration Empirical Studies ..........-2 The Sen Antonio Court of Appeals: A Substantively Unconscionable Provision in on Arbitration Agreement Should Have Been Severed, Allowing Compulsory Arbitration to Go Forward ..................... 4 ilSrotApplied To Texas General Abitre- ties Act In O ln . IAFTA Fjamfr, j,- ............................................. 6 Discrimination Allegations end Arbitration: Eleventh Circuit Upholds Employer's Arbitration Policy ................ 7 Ethics Opinion Quostioned .................... 9 Rebirth of Common Sense: Colleborative Low ................................... 10 Reflections From The Edge: Helping Mediation Advocates Borrow the Mediator's Power .................... 12 Better Business Bureau Searches For Volunteer Mediators in Central And South Texas ............................................ 15 Book Review: Laurance J. Boule., Michael T. Coletrele Jr., And Anthony P. Pcchieni, Akoihuti: Si/f tad rrha4msw ............ ....... ........... 16 Book Review- Undo Olden-Smith, PlyiM the seluon Cd- llodtN, Disputes with the Thought e$olotn Protoo ......................................... is Ethical Puzzler ................................. 21 State Bar Of Texas 2009 Annual CL[ ......... 24 Calendar of Events ................................... 2 Encourage Colleagues to Join ............... 29 Alternative Resolutions Publications Policies .............................................. 30 Alternative Resolutions Policies for Listings Of Training Programs ................. 38 208-2009 Officers & Council Members ............................. 31

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