As everyone who follows the news of the day knows, there was a little dust-up in Cambridge, Mass. last week.  (If you need a primer to catch up, go here).  President Obama is scheduled today to meet and have a beer with Cambridge Police Officer, Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard faculty member Henry Louis Gates, … Continue reading President Obama – Mediator in Chief →

Here’s another comment, this one by Cliff Palefsky, a San Francisco lawyer with a substantial arbitration practice. Regulation is the price you pay for the elimination of true consent.  As the National Academy [of Arbitrators] said, “without volunariness, arbitration lacks moral and legal justification.”  Statistics in the end are meaningless.  Anyone who truly loves the … Continue reading NAF Commentary – Part II →

Lots to chew on coming out of Washington, D.C. in recent days. Paul Bland (Public Justice) and Professor Chris Drahozal (Kansas) provided testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, along with representatives of NAF and AAA. Their prepared testimony is available here. The Staff Report is here. Rep. … Continue reading Materials from Congressional Hearings on Arbitration →

Citing the Wall Street Journal, WorkplaceProfBlog just reported here that the American Arbitration Association has withdrawn from consumer debt collection arbitration.  I have not found AAA’s statement on the decision, and I have no idea how this affects existing claims. Some have guessed that “smoking gun evidence” led to the NAF decision to withdraw.  I … Continue reading AAA Joins NAF in Stepping Away from Credit Card Arbitration →

Business Week reported yesterday that NAF will no longer do consumer card arbitration, and if I’m reading the article correctly, will no longer do any of a range of other consumer arbitrations.  A settlement of the Minnesota Attorney General’s claim against NAF, this could shake up arbitration from a provider side, just as Congress has … Continue reading NAF Announcement — Out of Consumer Arbitration →

The Minnesota AG’s complaint is here, and the NAF’s response from its website is here. Under Minnesota’s state rules of civil procedure, which I’m pretty sure parallel the FRCP on these matters, we’ll probably have a chance to see NAF’s answer relatively soon. Michael Moffitt

The Minnesota Attorney General filed suit today against the National Arbitration Forum alleging multiple counts of consumer fraud in violation of Minnesota law.  The suit stems from an allegation that both the NAF and many of the collection firms that regularly use its services are owned, at least in part, by the same company.  Business … Continue reading Minnesota AG sues the National Arbitration Forum →

I was pleasantly surprised to read in my daughter’s sleepaway camp newsletter that the camp spends time each week teaching the girls conflict resolution skills: Tonight, the counselors are putting on the first Creative Service of the summer. Creative Service is a time to pause and reflect on the lessons learned here at camp. Tonight’s … Continue reading Teaching Conflict Resolution Skills Early →

The Restorative Justice in Adult Courts Committee of the Missouri Restorative Justice Coalition is sponsoring a symposium on Restorative Justice in Adult Criminal Courts on Friday Nov. 13, 2009, at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  During the morning plenary session experts in the field, both academics and practitioners, will present papers on restorative justice in adult courts.  The workshops in … Continue reading Restorative Justice Conference in Missouri for Missouri →

The ABA’s Dispute Resolution Section has just issued its Call for Proposals for the Section’s annual meeting next April in San Francisco.  A copy of the Call for Proposals can be seen here, and the proposal form can be accessed here.  As an fyi, priority is given to proposals that introduce new and innovative concepts, … Continue reading Call for Proposals – ABA Dispute Resolution Section Conference →