2023 Annual Award Winners
CPR ANNOUNCES 2023 ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS
AT ANNUAL MEETING
New York, NY, March 7, 2024 – The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), a global non-profit organization that helps others manage conflict so that they might better pursue their purpose, is pleased to announce the 41st Annual Award Winners for contributions to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in 2023 at the awards ceremony during the CPR 2024 Annual Meeting held in Philadelphia.
The CPR Institute’s Annual Awards program honors outstanding scholarship and practical achievement in the field of alternative dispute resolution. Award criteria focuses on scholarship which addresses the resolution, prevention or creative management of major disputes involving public or business institutions between corporations, between government and corporations, or among multiple parties. The review committee comprises judges and lawyers from leading corporations, top law firms and academic institutions across the U.S.
“This year’s recipients have provided practical and innovative contributions to the field of ADR, proving once again that there are viable and sustainable alternatives to litigation in managing conflict. CPR is honored to recognize them and their work,” said Helena Tavares Erickson, Acting CEO and SVP of the CPR Institute.
To see the list of the 2023 Annual Awards Judges, visit cpradr.org.
The James F. Henry Award honors outstanding achievement by individuals for distinguished, sustained contributions to the field of ADR. Candidates for the James F. Henry Award are evaluated for leadership, innovation and sustaining commitment to the field.
The James F. Henry Award recipient is the Hon. William H. Webster. Judge Webster has been active with CPR, where for decades he has provided his wisdom, integrity, and commitment. Currently an Emeritus CPR Board Member, Webster served on the Board for over 30 years and as Vice Chair for 14 years and as Chair for 4 years. His commitment to CPR’s mission of finding new and better ways to resolve conflicts has had an enduring impact on CPR. Webster was one of the earliest proponents of the CPR Pledge, heralding its usefulness in business conflict management, and of standing neutrals which he characterized as a constructive rather than destructive way to approach inevitable or recurring disputes. The former chair of Milbank’s Litigation Department, Judge Webster served in the U.S. Federal Court for the E. D. Missouri as well as in the Eighth Circuit and is Chair Emeritus of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, as well as previous Chair and Vice Chair. Prior to joining Milbank in 1991, Judge Webster served as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1978 to 1987 and as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1987 to 1991. Judge Webster has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, and the National Security Medal.
The Outstanding Book Award goes to a book published by academics and other professionals during the publication period (November 2022-October 2023) that advances understanding in the field of ADR.
The Outstanding Book Award was presented to Conna A. Weiner and Bennett Picker for Commercial Mediation Practice Guide, ABA (2023).
Commercial Mediation Practice Guide: A Practical Handbook for Lawyers and their Business Clients has been widely acclaimed as an outstanding practical guide to mediation. It provides an invaluable and straightforward understanding of key suitability, preparation and advocacy issues in mediation.
Conna A. Weiner, Esq., FCIArb, is an arbitrator, mediator and referee/special master with JAMS. She is also an arbitrator and mediator on the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals. Weiner has extensive experience as in-house counsel in the pharmaceutical industry.
Bennett Picker, is a mediator and senior counsel at Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP. He is also an arbitrator and mediator on the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals.
“I am so pleased and honored to receive this award from CPR. Ben and I deliberately mined our different, pre-ADR backgrounds for the book -- he as a former advocate and me as a former advocate and inside counsel -- and that mirrors what CPR has done so well as an organization for so many years, bring outside counsel and inside counsel together for the benefit of dispute resolution practice,” said Weiner.
Picker said, “It is a distinct honor and a great pleasure to receive this Award. One that is especially meaningful because CPR has been for decades THE thought leader in mediation worldwide.”
Outstanding Professional Article Award is for a professional article published by academics and other professionals in November 2022-October 2023 that advances understanding in the field of ADR.
This year’s Outstanding Professional Article Award was presented to Catherine A. Rogers for “Reconceptualizing the Party-Appointed Arbitrator and the Meaning of Impartiality” 64 Harvard Int’l L. J. 137 (2023)
Rogers’ article makes an affirmative case for party-appointed arbitrators, reconceptualizing party-appointed arbitrators as an essential structural check against various forms of cognitive bias that necessarily exist among all arbitrators on all arbitral tribunals.
Rogers is a scholar of international arbitration and professional ethics at Bocconi University, with a dual appointment as Professor of Ethics, Regulation, and the Rule of Law at Queen Mary, University of London, where she is also Co-Director of the Institute for Ethics and Regulation.
“When, as a very young professor just starting out, I received with great excitement the CPR Award for best article in 2002 for my first article about ethics in international arbitration,” said Rogers. “That is when I first realized that my scholarly work could also have an impact on practitioners in the field. Now, over 20 years later, I am even more profoundly excited to learn from this prize that scholarship about ethics in international arbitration is still considered impactful—thank you CPR!”
Outstanding Short Article Award is for a professional short article published by academics and other professionals in November 2022-October 2023 that advances understanding in the field of ADR.
This year’s Outstanding Short Article Award was presented to Donna Shestowsky and Jennifer Shack for “Ten Tips for Getting the Most Out of an Evaluation of Your ODR Program,” 59 Court Rev. 6 (Spring 2023)
The article provides a thorough overview of the critical elements for an evaluation of an ODR program, in a succinct, accessible manner – in the form of ten user-friendly tips. The article can be read and used as a manual and guide for those considering acquiring an ODR program or updating an existing one.
Shestowsky is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law and Director of the Lawyering Skills Education Program at the University of California, Davis, School of Law. She is also a faculty member of the Graduate Group in Psychology at UC Davis. She is also Chair Regent, AALS Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Shack is the Director of Research at Resolution Systems Institute, a non-profit organization in Chicago that seeks to make alternative dispute resolution services available through court systems.
“I am deeply honored to receive this CPR award. This acknowledgment reaffirms the importance of distilling practical experience gained from program evaluations into actionable advice for courts considering similar initiatives. I hope our article assists courts in their efforts to enhance the effectiveness and fairness of their ODR programs,” said Shestowsky. “I truly enjoyed the opportunity to bridge my academic empirical work with the program evaluation expertise of RSI. This award recognizes the value of this type of partnership.”
Shack said, “I am grateful to CPR for honoring Donna Shestowsky and me with this award. The article highlights the importance of evaluating the efficacy of court programs -- particularly when new processes are introduced -- and then using the results of these evaluations to produce clear guidance for courts. The award will make more courts aware of the article and encourage them to put its guidance to work.”
Joseph T. McLaughlin Original Student Article or Paper goes to an article or paper written by a student on events or issues in the field of ADR in November 2022-October 2023. Outstanding papers prepared for courses requiring papers as substantial part of grade must be recommended for submission by professor.
The Outstanding Student Article Award went to R. Daniel Knaap for "Arbitrator Conflict-of-Interest Arising from Third-Party Funding in Investment Treaty Arbitration," (2023).
Knaap is a J.D. candidate (2024) at Columbia Law School.
“I am honored and pleased to receive the Joseph T. McLaughlin Original Student Article Award for my article on arbitrator conflict-of-interest caused by third-party funding. I am incredibly grateful to Professors George Bermann and Kabir Duggal for their ongoing support and encouragement throughout my academic career.”
This year the judges decided to recognize work done by a group of students at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law with a special Student Innovation Award. This award goes to Maxwell Herath, Julie Howard, Konner Kelly, and Meara Maccabee for “Initiating Constructive Conversations Among Polarized University Student Groups,” at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Divided Community Project (2023).
Emeritus Professor Nancy Rogers said, “When differences among student groups become embittered, it puts a damper on the intellectual interchange we value in university life. These four students developed a framework, based on dispute resolution techniques, to arrange a conversation between the group representatives and promote understanding. The students invited the officers of two polarized student groups to join them for lunch and employed their framework with significant success. Through their booklet, the authors equip other ‘bystanders’ to make similar signal contributions. We are incredibly proud of what these four students contributed and grateful to CPR for celebrating it."
Established in 1977, CPR is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes the prevention and resolution of conflict to better enable the pursuit of purpose through the CPR Institute and its subsidiary, CPR Dispute Resolution Services LLC.
The CPR Institute builds capacity for dispute prevention and resolution through the thought leadership of its diverse members – companies, leading mediators and arbitrators, law firms, individual practitioners, and academics – who share best practices and develop innovative tools for dispute management through committee discussions and projects, publications, education and training, and hosting events.
CPR Dispute Resolution is a boutique provider of leading-edge dispute management services – mediation, arbitration, custom appointing services, a panel of dispute prevention specialists, and more – that leverages resources generated by the CPR Institute. The case administrators are responsive, efficient, and detail oriented, and have extensive backgrounds in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The Panel of Distinguished Neutrals is a carefully curated, diverse group of prominent, experienced subject matter and ADR professionals based in 35 countries. And CPR Dispute Resolution’s Complete Case platform, a holistic end-to-end digital environment designed for ADR, handles matters efficiently and securely. To learn more about CPR Dispute Resolution, visit drs.cpradr.org.
For more information about the CPR Institute, visit cpradr.org.
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