ABA #MediationWeek 2014 Features E-Neutral

This year’s American Bar Association Mediation Week theme is “Stories Mediators Tell—From Rookie to Veteran, Exploring the Spectrum of Mediation.” As part of the program, the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution published its October Enews featuring a recent article I authored encouraging use of skilled mediators or E-Neutrals in order to get back to the merits of a case. Now that E-Discovery rules have been used in federal courts for years and more recently in the majority of state courts, disputes over electronically stored information (ESI) are more commonly being addressed in state court litigation. E-neutrals are knowledgeable dispute resolvers who routinely mediate cases involving electronic evidence can help shape discovery plans, allocate costs, suggest technological solutions and create efficiencies in this emerging area. Mediation can feature private caucuses with retained experts or information technology liaisons that may help conduct discovery proportionally, minimizing motion practice, and avoiding sanctions and unpredictable judicial outcomes. Cooperation under this alternative dispute resolution rubric may also encompass settling procedures to be followed when discovering privileged information that has been inadvertently produced in the course of discovery, including clawbacks or agreed confidentiality orders. For more information, see my article here-- http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/events/dispute_resolution/Newsletter%20articles/Kolin.authcheckdam.pdf and the entire Just Resolutions Newsletter here-- http://www.americanbar.org/groups/dispute_resolution/JustResolutions/November-e-news111121111.html?cq_ck=1413403137831 a