The Center for Mediation & Arbitration MBA’s new dispute resolution center launches to rave reviews
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s any judge, attorney, or courthouse employee in Montgomery County can tell you, the county courts are bursting at the seams. So much so, that a court already running at full capacity can sometimes be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cases. Thanks to the recent efforts of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, the backlog of cases waiting to be tried has been reduced by 45%.1 The Montgomery Bar Association’s Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee hopes to join the bench in its effort to further alleviate the court’s backlog. The committee recently unveiled the brand new Center for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA), which seeks to resolve disputes either before or after they escalate into a filing in civil court. The CMA will also mediate and arbitrate cases in suit. The MBA’s ADR program, which began in 2002 as the Davenport Dispute Resolution
Center, has helped numerous parties avoid costly litigation and reach amicable settlements. In an effort to increase awareness of the ADR program, the committee decided to rebrand, revamp, and relaunch this past winter. The CMA is a low-cost service for the resolution of disputed matters that have been or could be filed in civil court or that the parties otherwise wish to resolve. The goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for an expeditious resolution of disputes outside of the courts. Services are provided through an expert panel of ADR specialists, all of whom have been carefully selected by the ADR Committee for their extensive experience in mediation and arbitration of civil matters. The CMA is available to lawyers, insurance companies, and any members of the public who have a civil dispute or a pretrial case pending in Pennsylvania. The new center is already receiving
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rave reviews. An initial two day mediation session with a major nationwide insurance company garnered the praise of all parties involved, as well as Court of Common Pleas Judge Thomas M. Del Ricci. Building on the success of this initial session, the center has several other mediations scheduled with major insurance companies in the near future. Judge Del Ricci is especially looking forward to seeing old cases disappear from the court’s back log. Anyone interested in learning more about the Center for Mediation and Arbitration can visit www.montgomerbar.org/adr/home.htm or call 610-279-9660, ext. 208. 1 Elliot-Engels, Amaris. “Montco Reduces Civil Trial-Ready Caseload by 45 Percent,” The Legal Intelligencer. Feb. 6, 2013.