Advocacy in Employment Mediation
EL999 $150
October 18, 2007 - New York, NY
8:30 am-12:30 pm
Register
Mediation has rapidly become a favored dispute resolution process for employment disputes. Employment mediation takes place at the administration agency level (EEOC and City Commission on Human Rights), before special mediators in court-sanctioned mediations, and, increasingly, in private mediations between disputing parties or under in-house employment ADR programs.
Mediation of employment disputes presents special challenges for lawyers who traditionally see themselves as advocates in litigation seeking to convince a third-party decision-maker. It is a markedly different dispute resolution process because the parties themselves are the decision-makers. Different advocacy skills, behavior, and strategies are required if any mediation is to be successful.
The program starts with a discussion of administrative agency mediations and proceeds to advocates for plaintiffs and defendants sharing their views on best practices and successful strategies in mediation. Employment mediators then explain what behavior and strategies they look for (and recommend against) when advocates appear before them, and the program closes with a discussion of the unique ethical concerns confronting advocates in employment mediations.
Speakers
- Program Chairperson: John Canoni, Esq.
- Laura Allen, Esq., Sidley Austin LLP
- Michael Bertty, EEOC
- Aimee Florin, Esq., Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
- William Frumkin, Esq., Sapir & Frumkin LLP
- John Gaal, Esq., Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC
- Cheryl Howard, Esq., Former General Counsel, NYC Commission on Human Rights
- Susan Mackenzie, Esq., Arbitrator/Mediator
- Bruce Millman, Esq., Littler Mendelson, P.C.
- Susan Ritz, Esq., Ritz & Clark LLP
- John Sands, Esq., Arbitrator/Mediator
- Rosemary Townley, Esq., Arbitrator/Mediator
Agenda
- 8:30am: Continental Breakfast
- 8:45am: Welcome — Esta Bigler; Introductions - John Canoni
- 9:00am: Agency Mediation: How and Why It Works - Michael Bertty, Cheryl Howard
- 9:20am: Q&A
- 9:30am: View from the Advocates: Dos and Don'ts When Mediating Disputes - Laura Allen, Aimee Florin, William Frumkin, Susan Ritz
- 10:10am: Q&A
- 10:25am: Break
- 10:40am: Mediators' Advice on What Makes and Prevents a Successful Mediation - Susan Mackenzie, John Sands, Rosemary Townley
- 11:25am: Q&A
- 11:40am: Ethical Issues Confronting Advocates in Mediation - John Gaal, Bruce Millman
- 12:20pm: Q&A
- 12:30pm: Closing
Co-sponsored with NYSBA, Labor and Employment Law Section; the EEOC, Conflict Resolution Program; and Cornell ILR's Program on Conflict, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Labor Relations
