We would like you to tell us how we’re doing.  The short surveys below are your opportunity to tell us what you think works and what needs improvement in our court-connected ADR system.  Your feedback will help us create new programs and enhance our current programs and services to you.  Please take a few minutes to complete one of the surveys.  Just click the appropriate link below, depending on whether you live or work in Georgia or outside the state.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FFZ5PCT  (Registered Neutrals in Georgia)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2WK5NZG  (Registered Neutrals Out of State)

Your responses and your identity will remain confidential.  The ADR Court Program Liaison Committee will analyze your answers and use them to develop recommendations to the full Commission on Dispute Resolution.

The Liaison Committee was established in January 2010 with two mandates: 1) to support and promote high quality court ADR services; and 2) to help the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution (GODR) provide you value-added programs by improving communication among the constituents of Georgia’s court-connected ADR system.

So far the committee has created several new programs for registered neutrals, including: professional liability insurance, health insurance, retirement programs and this GODR e-newsletter.  We need to hear from you so we can better understand your priorities and needs.

Thank you,

Alan Granath, Liaison Committee Chair

KSU Seeks Department Chair, Interim Director

Kennesaw State University is seeking a chairman of the Political Science and International Affairs Department, which houses the widely respected Master of Science in Conflict Management program.   Click here to see the job listing. 

KSU is also seeking an interim director for its Center for Conflict Management.  Click here to see the job listing. 

Case Watch: For Mediators

The issue of child support and how it can be paid is once again front and center in this analysis of two recent Georgia appellate court cases Mary Ellen Cates, veteran divorce attorney and registered mediator.  Her take:  trial courts, which are charged with overseeing the best interests of children in a divorce, have broad discretion to secure adequate financial support for the children, even if that discretion involves a parent paying a lump sum, rather than making monthly payments.

17th Annual
ADR Institute
&
2010
Neutrals
Conference
 

ADR Institute Registration Now Open!

Finally!  Registration is now open for the 17th Annual ADR Institute and the 2010 Neutrals’ Conference.  It will be held Friday, December 10, 2010, at the State Bar of Georgia Conference Center, 104 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta.  6 hours of neutral continuing education and 6 hours of CLE (including that rare 1 Ethics Hour) will be available.  The early/on-site registration fees have been kept the same as last year’s: $105/$125 for neutrals, and $170/$190 for lawyers wanting CLE.  Details and conference registration available now through the Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

’Tis the Season: Registration Renewal Opens

The 2010 registration renewal season will be from November 1 to December 31, 2010.  All registered neutrals will need to renew, except those new neutrals with a registration expiration date of 1/1/2011.  Online renewal access and fillable, downloadable renewal forms are now available on our website. Any applications submitted after December 31, 2010 will be considered late.  Details:

Continuing Education:  All renewing neutrals must show on their renewal applications that they have taken at least 3 hours of continuing education since their initial registration or their last renewal, whichever comes later.  You can no longer carry over CE hours from previous years or toward future years.

Renewal Fee: The basic renewal fee is $125; it is $150 for those registered in domestic relations mediation.  Note: if you submit your application after December 31, 2010, your application will be considered late, and your renewal fee will double to $250 or $300.  We don’t want you to have to pay the late fee, so please submit your application before December 31, 2010.

Signature Page:  The GBI requires all renewing neutrals to submit a hand-signed signature page that gives GODR permission to run a criminal background check.  For those submitting printed applications, the signature page is the last page of the renewal form.  For those submitting renewals online, the signature page is the last page of your online application summary, so please print your summary.  Your application will not be processed without the signature page.  Mail, e-mail, or fax your signature page to us.

More Information:  Renewal instructions and information are posted here on our website. 

**Always send important documents to GODR via a service that offers tracking and delivery confirmation.**

Feed Your Head:
CRQ Articles for Neutrals, Court Administrators

Conflict Resolution Quarterly is a highly respected academic publication, and it just so happens that the editor-in-chief, Susan S. Raines, Ph.D., is a Georgia registered mediator, approved trainer and ADR professor at Kennesaw State University.  For the interest of neutrals and court administrators, she has compiled for us a list of recent CRQ articles on topics as diverse as the struggle to define “mediation”; ADR in medical malpractice cases; and an approach to dissolving same-sex partnerships.  You can access these articles three ways:

Business Tip: Tax Changes for Your Neutral Practice

Many ADR professionals in Georgia are sole proprietors or small businesses.  You should know that several changes are afoot in the tax code that will affect the way you do business next year and beyond.  In this first installment of our Business Tip column, Rob Tamburri, CEO and founder of Tamburri Financial Group, explains the tax changes that he believes are most relevant to you and your practice.

Rob Tamburri is a licensed CPA and the CEO & Founder of Tamburri Financial Group -  He can be reached at rob@tamburrifinancial.com

The next meeting of the Commission on Dispute Resolution is scheduled for Thursday, November 18, at 2 pm, in Meeting Room 1 of the State Bar of Georgia Conference Center, 104 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30303.  Meetings are open to the public.  Upcoming Commission meetings, agendas and minutes are always posted on our website.

Registration renewal season began November 1.  But there’s no reason to panic about your annual 3-hour neutral CE requirement.  Remember, any training you took counts as CE as long as you took in since your last renewal or your initial registration, whichever comes later.  Lawyers, any CLE you took in 2010 counts as CE.  Likewise, judges, any CJE you took in 2010 counts as CE.  Accountants and other professionals with continuing education requirements, same thing.  And any ADR-related seminar or training you attended in 2010 just because you wanted to learn something, yes, that counts as CE also.  Check frequently at our website for the latest CE and training offerings.

Be Neutral  Back Issues Available Online

Be Neutral is sent monthly to all registered neutrals, generally at the beginning of the month.  If you missed an issue, our back issues are posted at the bottom right of our website, under “Newsletter Archive.”  Please take a look.  If you know people who want Be Neutral, please direct them to our subscription box at the bottom right of our website, where they just need to enter their e-mail addresses. Please forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested in ADR in Georgia courts.  Forward it just as you would any other e-mail.  If folks who are not registered neutrals want to receive the newsletter free of charge, they can submit their e-mail addresses in the subscription box at the bottom right of our website. And sending us feedback is easy – just reply to this e-mail as you would any other e-mail.  We want to hear from you!

Spread the Word

Please forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested in ADR in Georgia courts.  Forward it just as you would any other e-mail.  If folks who are not registered neutrals want to receive the newsletter free of charge, they can use the subscription link at the bottom of this newsletter or submit their e-mail addresses in the subscription box at the bottom right of the home page of our website. And sending us feedback is easy – just reply to this e-mail as you would any other e-mail.  We want to hear from you !