ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2015) -- Mayor Buddy Dyer will read a proclamation declaring the third week of October to be Mediation Week in Orlando at the regular City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 5. Mediator
Richard Lord, a shareholder with Upchurch Watson White & Max, was behind the effort, requesting the proclamation on behalf of the firm.
Florida Mediator Richard Lord
The
proclamation will be one of the first agenda items for the 2 p.m. meeting in Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 400 South Orange Ave. Plans call for Commissioner Robert F. Stuart to introduce the proclamation and then for the mayor to read it with the recommendation that the council accept it. "The American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution declared, beginning in 2011, the third week of October, 'ABA Mediation Week,' in part building on the efforts of many other national, state, and local organizations, including the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), which have traditionally celebrated conflict resolution during the month of October," an agenda item summarizes. "The ABA Mediation Week initiative is a celebration of the strides made in utilizing mediation as one of several appropriate dispute resolution processes."
The first part of the proclamation is a list of reasons it should be enacted:
- "Whereas, during the past few decades, the field of alternative dispute resolution has grown tremendously and along with it so has the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, and
- "Whereas, in 2011, the American Bar Association declared the third week of October as Mediation Week to recognize the utilization of mediation as one of several appropriate dispute resolution processes, and
- "Whereas, the recognition that there are multiple paths to justice is increasingly shared by attorneys, judges and the public alike, and
- "Whereas, mediators and other dispute resolution practitioners, through their concentrated expertise in helping parties find lasting solutions to complex problems, have continually demonstrated the value of the field of alternative dispute resolution, and
- "Whereas, mediation practices and skills are being applied in the workplace by leaders, managers and supervisors who have embraced the power and efficiency of open communication and collaborative problem-solving, and
- "Whereas, mediation, along with the principles and practices that it embodies, can be a crucial tool for peacemaking between individuals, groups, units, neighborhoods, as well as governments and our region continues to be a leader in those efforts ..."
The meeting is open to the public and will be televised live on Channel 199 Orange TV and online at
CityofOrlando.net
In other Mediation Week happenings, UWWM plans to present a Webinar --
"Mathematics and Mediation: 'Through the Looking Glass'"-- that will qualify attendees who are Florida attorneys for 1.5 credit hours of Continuing Legal Education. Perhaps the most meaningful way the dispute resolution professionals will observe Mediation Week is by helping to settle disputes; 12 mediations are already scheduled for the week in UWWM's Maitland office alone.
About Upchurch Watson White & Max
A nationally leading mediation specialty firm, Upchurch Watson White & Max is known for facilitating reasonable agreements to resolve complex issues. From eight offices in Florida and Alabama, Supreme Court certified attorney mediators with wide-ranging specialties serve as court-appointed and privately employed mediators, arbitrators and third-party neutral case managers, implementing innovative methods of alternative dispute resolution across the country. On the Web: uww-adr.com
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