The Boston Municipal Court/ Boston Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (BMC/BBA ADR Program)
Summary:
The BMC/BBA ADR Program, established in 1997, is a project of the Boston Bar Association. This program seeks to improve the administration of justice by providing an experienced panel of alternative dispute resolution volunteers who provide their services free of charge to the Boston Municipal Court (BMC) and the parties who appear there. It consists of two components, the Pre-trial Case Conferencing Program and the Mediation Program.
The pre trial conference program, which is mandatory for all civil cases, involves an attorney volunteer with at least 4 years of litigation, ADR or other legal experience meeting with the parties of every civil case at the Boston Municipal court. In reviewing the status of the case and trying to help resolve the dispute the conferencer helps to focus the issues and discusses mediation. The mediation program offers mediation services by experienced mediators.
The BMC/BBA ADR Program saves the Court valuable time. The program reduces backlog by bringing parties together before trial to reach a settlement or focus the issues to make cases more streamlined for trial. This service to the Court also promotes more universal access to justice for the parties appearing before the Boston Municipal Court. Both pro se and attorney-represented disputants are able to reach resolution more quickly. Parties also receive additional benefits of ADR including: 1) meeting adverse parties in a neutral setting; 2) exploring resolutions not available through litigation; and 3) having greater autonomy in the process.
History:
The Boston Municipal Court selected the Boston Bar Association to provide alternate dispute resolution services to the court in 1997.
The BMC/BBA Task Force administers and directs the program with the assistance Boston Municipal Court staff, staff of the Boston Bar Association and a ten member Task Force.
For the past ten years volunteers provide both case conferencing and mediation services to the court. The services are provided at BMC Central Division with some outreach to other courts in the system.
Selection Process and Activities:
Prospective volunteers may contact the BBA via the following email address BMCADR@bostonbar.org, or by contacting Paul Dullea, Director of Community Affairs at:
Boston Bar Association
16 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 778-1934
Pdullea@bostonbar.org
A task force of the Boston Bar which reviews all applicants, provides introduction, orientation to new volunteers.
Attorneys with at least 4 years of experience in litigation, ADR work or other court services may qualify for the position of case conferencer.
Mediators must have 30 hours of minimum training, as well as experience mediating at least ten cases. Mediators may be attorneys or community mediators. The commitment for each program is four mornings between September through June. Volunteers may participate in both programs (which would be a promise of eight mornings).
The program provides orientation, occasional voluntary workshops and discussion groups on relevant subjects. There is an end of the year speaker and lunch for all volunteers, court personnel, and Judges.
The program continues to need more volunteers as pre trial conferencers. and from time to time has some additional openings on its mediation panel.
Calendar - Schedule of Mediators
Meditor Panel - Contact Information for all ADR Mediators
Memo - Instructions for BMC Mediators
BMC-BBA Flow Chart |
