Macomb County Bar Association

Macomb County Bar Association

ADR Committee

Minutes of December 9, 2014 Meeting

The meeting was called to order at 4:05 pm and the following individuals were in attendance:

Dick Hurford

Larry Donaldson

Keith Cermack

Mike Blum

Joseph Golden

Tony Caputo

Phil Alber

Chris Daniels

Robert Garvey

John Lujan

Minutes of the November 12, 2014 Committee Meeting

The Minutes of the November 2014 Meeting were approved. The MCBA will be asked to post the approved Minutes on the ADR Committee’s web site.

Evaluation of Mediator, Court and Practitioner Practices

Chris Daniels led a significant discussions on what steps may be taken to establish information that would demonstrate neutral competence that would be of use to practitioners in the selection of a neutral. A number of recommendations and thoughts were expressed as to how the Committee might be able to develop information that will be of use to practitioners. It was agreed that we would revisit the issue next month and potentially appoint a subcommittee to explore the matter.

Programming and Initiatives

Legally Speaking:Joe Golden, Phil Alber, and Larry Donaldson are coordinating on the presentation and will provide additional information at the next meeting.

February 2015 Bar Briefs:We are authoring three articles for the February 2015 issue of Bar Briefs. An article will be written by Hurford, Tracy Allen and Jerome Rock. Thanks to the authors and looking for volunteers for February 2016.

Coordinating with other MCBA Committees:Tony is following up with the Probate Committee, Larry Donaldson the Real Estate Committee and Hurford with the Family Law Committee. They will provide reports at the next meeting of the status of discussions.

Business Programming:Phil Alber. Mike Blum and Larry Donaldson will provide a follow up for consideration by the Committee at the January meeting. The objective is to reach out to business organizations, such as the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce, to determine if we can be of assistance in developing programming that would be of interest to their membership.

February 11, 2015 Joint Program:The ADR Committees of the Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Genesee County Bar Association are planning a joint meeting and program that will be discussed at greater length at the next meeting. The program for the meeting will involve a discussion by four litigators (one from each County) on those mediator practices that are the “best” and “worst” from their perspectives. There will also be an opportunity to socialize with our counterparts on other initiatives we might jointly undertake. It is hoped that as many individuals as possible on the MCBA ADR Committee will be able to attend

Taxonomy:The Domestic Relations Committee has agreed to review the Taxonomy for potential update of a discussion on the use of ADR and processes in the Domestic Relations arena.

Hurford is coordinating with the MCBA on materials for potential posting on the MCBA ADR Section of the website. His recommendation for postings was approved at the meeting.

Other Business

Tony Caputo discussed the potential of receivers being appointed to engage in ADR under the new receivership statutes. Hurford and Tony Caputo will meet to explore and plan on having a discussion with the Committee when that review is completed.

Adjournment and Next Meeting

The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 pm. It is the desire of the Committee to the extent practicable to keep the meetings to 60 minutes or less.

The next meeting of the Committee will be at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at the offices of Plunkett Cooney located at 10 S. Main St., Suite 4000, Mount Clemens. We hope to see you all then.