Day 2 at the ABA DR Spring Meeting

Today was the big day at the 8th ABA Section of Dispute Resolution's Spring meeting in Atlanta. After the final round of the Representation in Mediation Competition, the winners from Arizona State University, coached by Bruce Meyerson, were presented with their award during the luncheon. Congrats also to Coach Dennis Sharp's team from American University Washington College of Law for making it to the final round. My personal thanks to Robert Ackerman of Penn State University for presenting my award for the student writing competition -- and, even more importantly, pronouncing my name properly ;-). Congressman John Lewis delivered a powerful keynote address, as expected.

Afterwards, I caught "The Ultimate Midyear Arbitration Update" presented by Homer C. La Rue and Lisa S. Kohn, who also made soft copies of the presentation materials available here. Judith Kaleta then moderated a panel on negotiated rulemaking with Prof Philip Harter, Suzanne Orenstein, and Elena Gonzalez. They discussed the distinctions between consensus and collaboration in reg-neg and answered some interesting questions from the audience about their experiences with different government agencies in the rulemaking process.

The Georgia Aquarium was a bit more than a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Hyatt, but well worth the trip. There were some hands-on exhibits in addition to the whale sharks, beluga whales, seals, otters and other marine life visible through their enormous windows. As usual, the reception was really enjoyable and went by quicker than expected.

Tomorrow is just a half-day of sessions before the general meeting concludes. The final track includes an update on my favorite topic, the enforceability of class action/arbitration waivers. Should be a good one.