Judge Michael Aloi Speaking at WVU College of Law

The ADR Society will host its first speaker of the year, Judge Michael Aloi, on Monday, November 14, at noon in the Lugar Courtroom. This event is open to the public. He will be speaking on perspectives of mediation from the standpoint of a mediator, a lawyer, and a judge.

Judge Aloi has been appointed to the 16^th Judicial Circuit serving Marion County. He is a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College and a 1983 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, where he received both Order of the Coif and Order of the Barristers. Before taking the bench, he was an attorney with Manchin and Aloi Attorneys at Law in Fairmont for 28 years and is past president of the West Virginia State Bar.

Mr. Aloi was recognized as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the Appalachian Center for Law and Public Service in 1997 and was also recognized as the West Virginia Association for Justice Member of the Year in 2001. In April 2006, the West Virginia State Bar Foundation honored Mr. Aloi as a Foundation Fellow. He received a Certificate of Merit from the West Virginia Bar in 2008 for outstanding service. He has been selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Super Lawyers” for ADR. Mr. Aloi is the only lawyer in West Virginia to be a Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators and has received an AV rating from Martindale Hubble.

Mr. Aloi was selected as one of the original mediators by the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia for settlement week in 1987 and has mediated over 2,500 cases. He also served as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. He was selected as an Impartial Hearing Officer for the West Virginia Department of Education and served as Hearing Examiner pro tempore for the West Virginia Department of Human Rights and as a Hearing Examiner for the West Virginia Ethics Commission. He presently serves on the Board of the West Virginia Bar Foundation and is past Chairperson of the West Virginia State Bar Commission on Judicial Independence.

Please join us in welcoming Judge Michael Aloi. 

Questions or comments? Please contact Alicia Lauderman, President, WVU College of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Society at alauderm@mix.wvu.edu

Conflict Resolution Day and Mediation Week

In honor of Conflict Resolution Day, Mediation Week, and on behalf of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society, I would like to recognize the contributions of all Magistrate Court coordinators and mediators for their commitment and hard work toward serving the citizens and courts of Preston, Marion, Harrison, and Monongalia Counties. The following members have kept mediations going throughout the summer months up until today:

• ·      Jeremy Cooper (Preston coordinator)
• ·      Jennifer Dempsey (Vice-President)
• ·      Dee Simmons (alumni)
• ·      Jaime Ritton (Mon coordinator)
• ·      Michael Nissim-Sabat
• ·      Roger Hanshaw
• ·      Sarah Patterson (alumni)
• ·      John Hickey
• ·      Rachel Livingood
• ·      Sherman Neal
• ·      Amy Treadwell (visitor)
• ·      Marianne Monkam (Mon coordinator)
• ·      Brittany Furr (Harrison coordinator)
• ·      Thomas Norton (Treasurer)
• ·      Brady Christopher (Secretary)
• ·      Professor Tom Patrick (Faculty Advisor)
• ·      Adam LoCascio
• ·      Ben Visnic
• ·      Travis Brannon (Marion coordinator)
• ·      Drew Kirkner
• ·      Katie Dean
• ·      Kassi Garan
• ·      Richard Karnes 

I’d also like to extend my thanks to last year’s President, Brian Corcoran, Esq., for his continued support. Additionally, thanks to those who have expressed interest and joined us to observe:

• ·      Pat Callahan
• ·      Marlon Rhine
• ·      Terry Beeman

Our Treasurer, Tom Norton, figured up settlement statistics this past weekend. Our mediators have helped settle approximately 47% of the disputes we’ve heard in Magistrate Court since last February! This public service would not have been possible without you. Your support is a positive reflection on your commitment to professionalism, the Magistrate Courts, and for WVU College of Law. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Alicia Lauderman

President, WVU Alternative Dispute Resolution Society 

Thank You!

West Virginia University College of Law's Alternative Dispute Resolution Society would like to extend a special thanks to all of the students, alumni, and guests who have dedicated their time in serving the citizens and Magistrate Courts of Monongalia, Preston, Marion, and Harrison Counties over the summer and the start of the new semester. We could not have done it without you:

Jeremy Cooper*
Jennifer Dempsey
Dee Simmons*
Jaime Ritton*
Michael Nissim-Sabat
Roger Hanshaw*
Sarah Patterson*
John Hickey*
Rachel Livingood
Sherman Neal
Amy Treadwell
Marianne Monkam
Brittany Furr*
Thomas Norton*
Professor Tom Patrick*
Adam LoCascio
Ben Visnic
Alicia Lauderman*
* denotes multiple counties

Also, thanks to Marlon Rhine and Patrick Callahan for coming out to observe.

As always, we continue to serve the Magistrate Courts monthly. Stay tuned for upcoming news on competitions, speakers, and other events. Save the date: WVU ADR Society is excited to host the Honorable Michael J. Aloi on November 14th in the Lugar Courtroom. Please visit again for details closer to time.

Welcome to ADR!

Welcome to ADR Society's website. Stay tuned for upcoming events, speakers, and training.

2011 - 2012 Officers

President: Alicia Lauderman
Vice President: Jennifer Dempsey
Secretary: Brady Christopher
Treasurer: Tom Norton


County Coordinators
Mon County: Marianne Monkam and Jaime Ritton
Marion County: Travis Brannon
Preston County: Jeremy Cooper
Harrison County: Brittany Furr
Upshur County: Wesleyan.

Attorney Laurie McKowen speaks to the ADR Society

On Wed. April 20, W.V. attorney Laurie McKowen spoke to the ADR Society about arbitration. The focus of Ms. McKowen's talk was on the increased trend towards arbitration, as well as attorneys's reactions and attitudes towards this trend. Supported by empirical data gathered from a recent state survey, Ms. McKowen outlined some of the issues associated with arbitration (as opposed to litigation or mediation). Several students stayed after the talk to discuss the topic in more depth.

The WVU ADR Society thanks Ms. McKowen for coming out to talk to us as well as her ongoing support of the ADR Society's efforts in the Magistrate Court Mediation Program!

Career Services Mediation Presentation -- 4/12

All,

 

I am forwarding on this information from Jennifer Powell -- it looks like it will be an interesting talk :) 

 

Cecil Varney and Tonya Mounts will co-present on the topic of "Mediation" next Tuesday, April 12, at 12 noon at the WVU College of Law, in Room 162.

Mark your calendars to attend this presentation--the second in the Bridging the Gap series offered by the Young Lawyers Section of the WV State Bar.

Food will be served.

 

 

Brian.

Upcoming Speaker and Elections!

Don't forget that we are having a speaker and elections on 4/20/11.

On Wed April 20, we will host Laurie McKowen as our final speaker of the semester. Ms. McKowen is an alum of WVU law, an authority on WV malpractice law, and  is integrating ADR into her practice. She also spends time with us in Harrison county for Magistrate Court Mediations. Ms. McKowen will talk to us about arbitration. More details about her talk will follow. 

We will also hold elections for officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer)! Next year will be even better than this one, so make sure that you are going to be a part of it by running for an officer position, or taking on the most important job in the club, County Coordinator! There are four county coordinator positions available, and two have been spoken for . . . 

Thanks to our Harrison County Mediators!

Thank you to: Alicia Lauderman, Brittany Furr, Travis Sayre, Kate Charonko, Jaime Ritton, and Jeremy Cooper for jumping in and mediating in Harrison County on Thursday evening!

Michael Aloi to speak to the ADR Society -- Overcoming Barriers in Mediation

The WVU College of Law ADR is pleased to be hosting Mr. Michal Aloi, of the firm Manchin and Aloi. Mr. Aloi will speak at Noon in the Davis Gallery on Wednesday 3/16.

Attorney Michael Aloi is a very experienced mediator and a creative thinker who lectures nationally on the topic of a more holistic approach to conflict resolution. You will find his ideas thought-provoking and helpful in developing creative approaches to conflict resolution of all kinds. This should be especially helpful for ADR mediators in our magistrate-court mediation program. He speaks at the ADR meeting this Wednesday, March 16, at noon in the Davis Gallery. Lunch (from Jimmy Johns) will be provided.


Thanks to John Hickey for the write-up!

WEST VIRGINIA STATE BAR TRAINS WVU COLLEGE OF LAW STUDENTS TO MEDIATE CASES IN MAGISTRATE COURT

West Virginia State Bar trains WVU College of Law students to help lighten the load on county Magistrates.

January 29, 2011 – Morgantown, W. V.  – The West Virginia State Bar, in cooperation with the WVU College of Law and the West Virginia University College of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) Society provided mediation training for more than 40 law students on January 29^th 2011. The training, hosted at the WVU College of Law, leveraged the skills of attorney volunteers Mike McDowell, Dan McDowell, and Ryan Simonton, members of the West Virginia State Bar’s ADR Committee Shannon Smith, Professor Tom Patrick, and Debra Scudiere, as well as Harrison County Magistrate Tammy Marple and Monongalia Magistrate Clerk Caroline Stoker to provide training and coaching for WVU law students at the all-day event.

Once trained, students receive a certificate from the State Bar and can mediate cases in the Magistrate Courts in Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, and Upshur counties. Mediation is a process where a neutral third party, the mediator, assists the parties to a dispute in negotiating a mutually beneficial agreement. If an agreement is reached, then the case need not be adjudicated. 

In 2005, members of the West Virginia State Bar “realized that law students had a strong desire to give back to the community and gain practical, hands-on legal experience,” said Shannon Smith, outgoing chair of the Magistrate Court Mediation Subcommittee of the ADR Committee of the West Virginia State Bar. Since then, the students, along with local attorney mentors, mediate about 40 cases a month in local county Magistrate Courts. In all, the students have mediated more than 1,000 cases.

“Mediating cases helps lighten the docket in the counties in several ways” said Harrison County Magistrate Tammy Marple. “Clearly if a case settles, then there is one fewer case on the docket, but the mediation process often helps expedite the proceedings for those cases that don’t settle, because the parties have sat down and thought through the issues with a mediator beforehand.” The law students also benefit from mediation. Mediation fosters useful lawyering skills, noted Jaime Ritton, a first-year law student who attended the training.

Mediations take place in each of the five participating counties once a month. Students and local attorney volunteers travel to the counties and mediate cases in the late afternoon. Mediation is also a significant part of Circuit Court proceedings. In West Virginia Circuit Courts, mediation is required in most civil matters.

West Virginia State Bar’s ADR Committee focuses on building the base of attorneys in West Virginia who have skills in the area of mediation, arbitration, and negotiation. The mediation training available to law students helps to further the Committee’s goals, while also providing community service and skills training opportunities to the students.

The ADR Society is a student organization dedicated to promoting student interest in ADR at the West Virginia University College of Law. The Society helps students gain an understanding of and promote the use of ADR as an effective alternative to litigation. The Society provides students with the opportunity to hear from prominent ADR experts in the field and to organize and participate in local mediation trainings and competitions. Additionally, the group is instrumental in maintaining the Magistrate Court mediation program in West Virginia by organizing and volunteering for monthly mediation.

Mediator of the Month

Stay tuned to read who the Mediator of the Month is in each County!

Mediation Training -- Success!!

This past weekend, on 1/29, we had over 40 mediator trainees go through the State Bar Magistrate Court Mediation training program. Once again, the West Virginia State Bar has provided WVU Law students with the training and a program that allows us to give back to the community and get some hands-on skills building! Thanks also to outgoing Magistrate Court Mediation Program Chair, Shannon Smith, for putting on yet another fantastic training session!

See some of the snapshots from this weekend's events in the slide-show on our blog :)

Mediation/ADR TV Series!

I've just learned about a new TV series where the main character is a mediator :) Sounds interesting . . .

Fairly Legal