Berks Barrister Summer 2018 - 16

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Berks County Bar Association's ADR Program Celebrates
Continued from page 15

in appropriate cases, has added to the Program's credibility.
Likewise, the Program would not have survived had it not
been for members of the local Bar suggesting the Program to
opposing counsel as an option available in efforts to resolve a case.
Similarly, cases are increasingly coming to the Program as a result
of transactional lawyers incorporating the use of the Program as
the mediation and/or arbitration provider in dispute resolution
clauses, written into contracts and agreements over the years.

"Serving as a Program Mediator these last twenty years has
been one of the most rewarding aspects of my practice. Each
mediation is as different as the parties, the counsel, and the
legal issues that are in dispute. There are no magic techniques
or words to be automatically applied every time in every case.
The only constant is the need to listen hard, and to keep trying
to understand the often unspoken bottom line core of each
party's position. Sometimes, with great patience and with due
care and respect for that sacred core, there is also the need to try
to help the parties understand that if they cannot reach their
own settlement of the dispute, a judge or a jury may decide
quite differently than they, the parties, what the resolution of the
dispute shall be. Ultimately, if the planets align, the parties are able
to communicate, through me and my trips between their separate
caucus rooms, in a way that gives compromise an opportunity to
settle the case or narrow the dispute.
"Hopefully, as the Berks County Bar Association Alternative
Dispute Resolution Program moves into its third decade, it will
continue to be available to the Bench and the Bar as an option to
pursue when the possibility of compromise glimmers and there is
the opportunity to be a peace-maker."

From Daniel E. P. Bausher:
"There is no question that
alternative dispute resolution has
changed the landscape of civil
litigation; civil trials are now few and
far between. It has become unusual
for a civil matter to reach a conclusion
without mediation or arbitration being
discussed and seriously considered, at least in Berks County. Our
program has now existed for twenty years. It has been extremely
successful, growing during that time. It is an effective way of
resolving disputes more promptly and in a less costly fashion.
"Many attorneys believe that mediation is appropriate only
in personal injury cases. However, mediation is also effective in
other civil matters such as contract disputes, construction cases,
employment issues, business disputes, will contests and municipal/
zoning matters. The Berks County mediators/arbitrators have all
been trained, and we have people on the panel who practice in
all the areas mentioned above. Our program is cost effective, and
cheap in comparison to other ADR programs in Pennsylvania.
I highly recommend the use of the program since I use it in my
16 | Berks Barrister

own personal injury practice without hesitation. Happy Birthday,
Berks County ADR Program! You have matured into one of our
best accomplishments."

From the Honorable
Madelyn S. Fudeman:
"I know many of my contemporaries
understand very well when I say I am
just incredulous that it has been twenty
years since Barb Kittrell approached me
to ask if I would be interested in being
trained as a mediator and arbitrator in
connection with a new service to be offered by the BCBA. I was
very intrigued - alternative dispute resolution was no longer an
entirely new concept by that time, but it was certainly still in its
infancy and the program organized by our bar association was very
cutting edge.
"The Directors of the BCBA decided to underwrite the
training of a panel of civil litigators with different areas of
expertise including plaintiffs and insurance defense, transactional,
municipal, banking and finance. The training was conducted at
the Bar Association over a weekend. I very clearly remember
feeling pretty intimidated when I arrived the first morning and
saw the Baushers (the Chief and Dan were, I think, both on the
original panel), Dave Kozloff, Tom Golden, Jay Abramowitch,
John Speicher, Jesse Pleet, Fred Hatt, Jerry Richwine and several
others, all of whom I knew to be amongst the most respected and
experienced litigators in the county. I also recall how interesting
and how much fun they made the training, but my strongest
recollection is how impressed I was that these accomplished
lawyers, who certainly did not need more work, had given a
weekend to be trained to offer their services on an ongoing basis
as mediator or arbitrator for far less than their usual hourly rate or
fee.
"I subsequently became the chairperson of the committee
for a number of years. During that time, we were asked to visit
other Bar Associations interested in setting up their own ADR
programs and wanting to model it on ours because it was so
successful. As chairperson, each year I prepared a report to the
BCBA Executive Director, Barb at first, then Don Smith later,
detailing the statistics of cases submitted for either mediation or
arbitration and the percentages of those cases resolved. Each time
I would review the numbers and marvel at the rate of successful
resolution - and know that many people had been spared the
expense and uncertainty of litigation.

"We were fortunate to have the support of the Board of
Judges, and Judges Stallone and Schmehl were particularly helpful.
After seeing how much we accomplished in the civil dispute
arena, we initiated the custody mediation program.
"Some of the original panel members are now gone, including
Judge Golden who was always so positive and supportive, and
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