Greetings from the Mediation Committee! As 2023 has now drawn to a close, and we hope all of our members enjoyed a very happy holiday season! Here’s a report of committee events for the last quarter of 2023, and we hope to see all of you at the Annual Spring Meeting in 2024.
Conducted in a Q&A format, this webinar will feature a series of mediation hypotheticals/questions presented to Mediation Committee Co-Chair Connor Bifferato and Education Director Edward Schnitzer for discussion and/or debate.
Hopefully you have had a chance to listen to ABI’s latest podcast featuring our very own Edward Schnitzer of Womble Bond Dickinson (New York) and Connor Bifferato of The Bifferato Firm (Wilmington, Del.).
In a recent decision, a bankruptcy judge remarked that “the Court’s preferred remedy would be requiring the parties to ‘hug it out.’” [1] Sadly, the judge lamented that “jurisdictional limits restrict the Court to ruling only on the dischargeability of the debt,” and he did not force the estranged family members to embrace.
This panel will discuss mediation in mass-tort/multiparty cases such as Puerto Rico, Purdue, Boy Scouts andthe various religious institutions that have filed for bankruptcy. The panelists will highlight mediating tortclaims that have emotional and non-monetary components, such as sexual abuse; issues regarding nondebtor-related entity property and contributions; and liquidation concerns in a religious institutionbankruptcy.
Based on his distinguished 45-year career dealing with stress and human health, Dr. Bruce Rabin will present a timely program identifying the mental and physical effects of stress, and will introduce skills that can be used to minimize those effects. He will explore the concepts of isolation, changes in behavior and health due to the pandemic, and how negotiation strategies for in-person or remote mediations, client relations and decision-making are affected by stress.
This panel will explore the various roles of neutrals in bankruptcy, including applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and Rules, as well as the limitations on the use of neutrals in bankruptcy. Examples of neutral roles in bankruptcy include mediators, fee examiners, subchapter V trustees, and mass tort personal-injury plan administrators. Limitations on the use of neutrals in bankruptcy can be found in Bankruptcy Rule 9031, and there is growing support to modify the rule to eliminate this limitation.
The ABI Mediation Committee’s “Look Ahead to 2023” presentation began with a summary of the Committee focus areas, an introduction to Committee leadership and highlights of the benefits of committee membership, such as our active listserv discussions, opportunities to write for our newsletter, and networking events at ABI conferences throughout the country.