Circuit court's ADR series has mediation panels

Free monthly workshops will resume in January for judges, lawyers and mediators who are interested in enhancing their knowledge of court-annexed mediation skills and procedures.

The brown-bag programs, sponsored by the Cook County Circuit Court Law Division and the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council, are held at 12 noon Thursdays in courtroom 2005 of the Richard J. Daley Center.

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, Jan. 12 – Effective Mediation of Employment Disputes; U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward A. Bobrick and Debra Gage Haude of JAMS.

Employment specialists will share experiences and insights on selecting the best mediator, the role of counsel, client preparation, and development of non-monetary trade-offs.

Thursday, Feb. 9 – Serving Two Mas-ters: The Attorney-Mediator's Dilem-ma; 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.