The Center for Dispute Resolution hosts conferences on a variety of topics related to dispute resolution.

2008 Conference
The sixth Alternative Dispute Resolution Symposium, "Where Have We Come? What Lies Ahead?" will be held on Friday, May 16, in the School of Law Center.

Keynote speaker Kenneth Feinberg will discuss "Is ADR a Credible Alternative to Existing Dispute Resolution Systems: Reflections on Experiences from the 9/11 Fund." Feinberg is an attorney and one of the nation's leading experts in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He is the managing partner and founder of The Feinberg Group, LLP. Feinberg served as the special master of the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. In this capacity, he developed and promulgated the regulations governing the administration of the fund and administered all aspects of the program, including evaluating applications, determining appropriate compensation and disseminating awards. He has also been involved in other major matters such as the Virginia Tech victims' memorial fund.

Following the keynote, a panel of distinguished experts on ADR will present plenary and breakout sessions exploring critical ADR issues involving ADR's past, present and future. Nationally recognized leaders in the fields of court use of ADR, quantitative analysis of ADR's efficacy, as well as other important ADR issues such as regulation and legislation, best practices, ethics and areas of potential future growth will share their experiences, research and views. Numerous state and regional ADR leaders will also participate in what should be a timely and highly interactive session.

The morning breakout sessions will examine ADR from the perspective of issues affecting broad ADR use including ethics, consumer matters, collaborative law and current hot topics. Afternoon breakout sessions will explore ADR from the perspective of specific functional practice areas such as courts/personal injury, commercial, family, community and education. Participants will take away a good sense of ADR's roots, successes and failures as well as future potential and direction.

There is no charge for the symposium, which includes continental breakfast and lunch. Seating is limited and participants must register by May 2.

View the complete schedule of speakers
Download the registration form