ADR Resources for Construction Lawyers
By Leslie King O’Neal In Ferraro Law Firm v. Royal Merchant Holdings (“Ferraro”),[i] a Florida appellate court vacated an arbitration award, holding improper pleading of a claim made the hearing fundamentally unfair. Should “improper pleading” be grounds to vacate an arbitration… Read More
By Leslie King O’Neal Parties Bargained for Arbitrator’s Interpretation–Courts Won’t Usurp Function Many arbitration agreements grant arbitrators broad powers, including contract interpretation. The two cases in this post show the difficulty in vacating arbitration awards by claiming the arbitrator misinterpreted the contract. … Read More
By Andrew Ness What is a Neutral Evaluation? “Neutral Evaluation” covers a wide range of evaluations by a neutral party, from little more than off-the-cuff comments to a detailed written assessment following multiple days of presentations. This post addresses why one or… Read More
By Leslie King O’Neal Phil Bruner’s Tips For Successful Multi-Party Mediations Phil Bruner (Philip L. Bruner, Esq., JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator) is an icon in the construction law and ADR worlds. I was honored to be his co-author on this article on… Read More
Interview with Robert Bergman, CEO of NextLevel Mediation By Leslie King O’Neal What is NextLevel Mediation? Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) dominates the news. Almost daily new AI tools and applications are announced. But, the ADR community wonders how AI tools can benefit mediators… Read More
By Leslie King O’Neal Getting to “yes” in construction mediation can be a lengthy process as parties and counsel sift through voluminous documents, expert reports, insurance policies and damages models to understand the risks and do cost-benefit analyses for settlement. If the… Read More
By Leslie King O’Neal Abraham Lincoln and Reconciliation These words from Lincoln’s second inaugural address, “With malice toward none; with charity for all . . . let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s… Read More
By Leslie King O’Neal Location, Location, Location–Confidentiality Depends on Where the Mediation Occurs Confidentiality is the bedrock of mediation. Parties will not communicate candidly with the mediator unless they know their statements will be confidential. However, there is no uniform mediation confidentiality… Read More