A free workshop on “Effective Mediation of Employment Disputes” will be conducted at 12 noon Thursday, Jan. 12, in courtroom 2005 of the Richard J. Daley Center.

The speakers, U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward A. Bobrick and Debra Gage Haude of JAMS, will share experiences and insights on selecting the best mediator, the role of counsel, client preparation, and development of non-monetary trade-offs.

The monthly brown-bag programs for judges, lawyers and mediators interested in enhancing knowledge of court-annexed mediation skills and procedures are sponsored by the Cook County Circuit Court Law Division and the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council.

Judge Allen S. Goldberg, a member of the ISBA section council member, is supervisor of the court's mediation program. The schedule of future programs follows. To register, call Raimonda Ferenzi at (312) 603-6078 or Kim Atz at (312) 793-0125.

Thursday, Feb. 9 – Serving Two Masters: The Attorney-Mediator's Dilemma; Assistant Clinical Prof. Pamela A. Kentra of Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Susan Yates, executive director of the Center for Analysis of Dispute Resolution Systems.

Topics include ABA/AAA Standards of Conduct for Mediators, whether they coexist or conflict with Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, what to do when a conflict arises, and confidentiality in the context of mediation.

Thursday, March 9 – Co-mediation of Medical Negligence Cases; attorneys Geoffrey L. Gifford and Richard Donohue.

At this session, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans will present a Service to the Community Award to Jerome Lerner from the Center for Analysis of Dispute Resolution Systems for outstanding contributions to the field of alternative dispute resolution.