Author Archives: abfifer

Kentucky Court of Appeals Enforces ICC Clause

November 19, 2021 – 4:45 pm

The Kentucky Court of Appeals has ordered enforcement of a clause compelling the parties to med/arb through the Institute for Christian Conciliation. The case (Whitefield Academy, et al v Alford, et al, Case No. 2021-DA-0678-I, issued November 4, 2021) involves a Christian school in Louisville, Ky. When the parents enrolled their daughter in the school […]

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Apology Makes Things Worse

October 22, 2021 – 10:51 am

Here’s an example of an offender’s well-meaning apology just making matters worse. Professor Bright Sheng, a long-time professor of music and composition at the University of Michigan, is teaching an undergrad composition seminar on Shakespeare this semester, and on September 10 he showed the 1965 film “Othello,” in which Laurence Olivier appears in blackface. As […]

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Mediating the Presence of a Bible

October 20, 2021 – 10:23 am

Should a Bible be included in a display honoring missing veterans near the entrance of a veterans’ hospital? A veterans hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire, thought so, but two U.S. Air Force veterans objected. Somehow the dispute ended up in federal court, but now the parties have agreed to mediation. Too bad they didn’t try […]

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Update to 9/2/21 Post

September 23, 2021 – 4:45 pm

An update to my post of 2 September 2021, “Mediator Standards of Conduct Could Have Helped Here”: the mediator’s law firm has decided to withdraw from representing the one party in that case, thus removing the appearance of a conflict of interest. This means an appellate court decision on mediator conflicts of interest will have […]

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Mediator Standards of Conduct Could Have Helped Here

September 2, 2021 – 9:04 am

Where should lawyers seek guidance in determining potential conflicts of interest regarding mediation? Michigan’s Standards of Conduct for Mediators are an overlooked resource here. A recent case bears this out (Great Lakes Home Health Services Inc v Carolyn Ewing, lv gntd Michigan Court of Appeals Case No. 357907). Mr. Mediator, an attorney with the M […]

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