Institutional Authority and Communication in Legal Mediation

I've worked for Jeff a little over a year now, and he has helped me see that attorneys don't all fit the mold portrayed by jokes and TV shows. He has been a practicing attorney for almost 30 years, having passed the bar in New York, Pennsylvania, and Utah. In each of the states in which he has worked, his life has been enriched by the relationships and connections he made along the way. Now, in Provo, he is the owner of a successful boutique-sized business law firm. Yet he feels that as a legal professional and as a faithful latter-day saint he owes something more to his clients than merely expert legal advice. He wants to save his clients time and money in a more effective way, which is why he's had me research expanding the legal mediation element of our law firm [3. Influential Event].

Within the United States all attorneys are required to pay annual fees and attend Continuing Legal Education courses (CLE) to maintain their bar status active [2. Regulating Standard]. These fees and the list of CLE completion are sent to the American Bar Association (ABA), an organization that gives structure and validity to each attorney [1. Authoritative Organization]. Although the ABA has a special membership fee that can be paid to gain access to more resources surrounding legal mediation and dispute resolution, the community of attorneys and other professionals dedicated to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) remained relatively small.

Jeff has been paying his ABA fees for many decades now, for he understands the importance of being qualified and authorized by each state to practice law. Since he lives in Utah, however, he pays the active fees for Utah and pays a minimum fee for inactive attorneys in these other states. Be that as it may, he can still mediate in whichever state (or nation) he is wanted. For example, one segment of Jeff's firm is China business law, a specific niche that is quite unique to Utah county. This work has taken him all across China, and he has acted as counsel for many businesses and individuals in need of his legal assistance. In each case he felt that mediation could have benefited the parties involved, and in those instances where it was used, it did help. The ADR program at this stage leaves determinations for attorney requirements to each individual state, but as mediation becomes more influential the ADA is likely to formalize a more detailed program [5. Challenging Authority / Changing Standards].

In my research for Jeff I came across an extremely useful document on the ABA website entitled "A Manual for Legal Services and Pro Bono Mediation Programs" [4. Authoritative Publication]. This document contains essential information for both designing and implementing a mediation program, which is exactly what Jeff has requested I do. If any legal professional is seeking to expand their mediation and alternative dispute resolution portion of their practice, the ABA does possess very useful resources and information that will prove invaluable to use. For now, Jeff thinks that the best way to make a difference with mediation is to advertise we do offer these services and to keep our eyes open for cases where mediation is a smarter option.