There is clear demand from litigation lawyers, corporate counsel, adjusters and individual parties to know more specific information about a given neutral: their ADR services and experience, qualifications & certifications, language skills, dispute areas in which they have substantial legal expertise, and so on.
It is the Academy's view that firms and parties seeking an experienced ADR professional to help resolve their dispute should have access to the best neutrals in each province AS REVIEWED BY THE LOCAL LITIGATION COMMUNITY. Further, the Academy charges no consulting or referral fee, nor takes a share of the lawyer's fees, unlike panels or private firms. Simply contact the Academy member's office *directly* by calling, or scheduling a meeting online.
There are 2 easy ways to check dates for your local Academy neutrals (saving HOURS of scheduling telephone tag in the process!)
If you have just ONE particular neutral in mind:
Simply search for your preferred mediator or arbitrator's name - you can do this via the above NEUTRAL SEARCH option, or - even quicker - click the little search icon at the top right of the site and begin typing the first few letters of a name. When you see the member you require, just select it from the dropdown choices that appears. If published, that neutral's calendar appears in the right column of their profile page. Simply click your preferred available (blue) date to reserve appointment online.
If you have several dates that might work:
Visit the MEMBER DIRECTORY map, and click your preferred state or city to pull up a complete list of all local members. At the top right of the list, there's a button saying "Compare Available Dates" - click that to go to our DATESELECTOR tool, which will allow you to cross-reference available dates for all these members by clicking on the large calendar. The resulting names that are highlighted are confirmed available on your selected date, and from there you can reserve a date online.
Most Academy members across Canada and the U.S. make their available dates online for the benefit of legal staff and clients. If you wish to send a request for a mediation/arbitration to a particular member, just click any of the available (blue) dates on that member's online calendar, and a Date Request form will pop up. Once the Date Request form has been filled in (including choice of time slots, your contact info and the name of the case) simply hit the Submit Request button at the bottom. A copy of this form is then routed straight to the member AND his/her designated scheduling staff, and you'll immediately receive a notice via email. In week day office hours, you can generally expect an email or phone response within the hour.
Simple - just click on the NEUTRAL SEARCH option up on the top menu and you'll see the first option allows you to enter the last name of the lawyer; just enter that and hit the Search button. Alternatively, if you know which province he/she is based in, just visit the MEMBER DIRECTORY page and click that state to view a full list of local Academy members.
Generally, NO - members of the Academy have been selected mainly in recognition of their excellence in the resolution of disputes within the CIVIL/COMMERCIAL arena, and typically most such cases involved high stakes dollar amounts. If you are looking for a mediator to handle your divorce case, a more appropriate roster would be the ADR Institute of Canada - you can find their member directory HERE.
Membership is by invitation only, based on our research with litigation firms and an annual peer-nomination and review process. Any interested ADR professionals are welcome to contact us directly but only if they are confident that they meet our listed formal criteria and believe they would receive nominating votes from their peers.
For more information on the history of NADN, please click here.
