CPR Announces 2024 Annual Award Winners at Annual Meeting
New York, NY – 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 42nd Annual Award Winners for contributions to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) from November 2023 to October 2024 at the awards ceremony during the CPR 2025 Annual Meeting held in Miami.
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.
“The 2024 Annual Award recipients have produced substantial thought leadership in the field of ADR. Their many and varied contributions to the literature and on-going discussions in the field will undoubtedly serve to educate and inform both current and future practitioners on alternatives to litigation. We are thrilled to provide them with this well-deserved recognition,” said Serena Lee, President and CEO.
To see the list of the 2024 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 sustained commitment to the field.
The James F. Henry Award recipient is given posthumously to Michael Leathes, the founder of the International Mediation Institute. His work as in-house counsel included positions at Pfizer, British American Tobacco and a predecessor company to Diageo. He authored many articles and the book Negotiation – Things corporate counsel need to know but were not taught (Wolters Kluwer, 2017). Among his many accomplishments in mediation and indeed the entire field of dispute resolution, Leathes made significant contributions to the development of Singapore as a center for mediation. A recurring theme that guided his actions, from his teenage years to just before his death, was his desire to help redress a wrong.
The Outstanding Book Award goes to a book published by academics and other professionals during the publication period (November 2023-October 2024) that advances understanding in the field of ADR.
The Outstanding Book Award was presented to Amy J. Schmitz for The Arbitration Conversation: Insights and Wisdom from Experts in the Field (ABA DR Section 2024).
Amy J. Schmitz is a professor at The Ohio State Moritz College of Law and Program on Dispute Resolution as the John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Endowed Chair in Law. She is a co-director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute's Responsible Data Science Research Community of Practice and is also working with The Ohio State Program on Data Governance and the Divided Community Project.
The book covers traditional arbitration as well as the quickly evolving and expanding world of technology-assisted arbitration, about which Professor Schmitz is an expert. It not only discusses in-person and virtual (remote) arbitration processes but also addresses the very important question of when arbitration is the most appropriate dispute resolution process.
“This Award means the world to me, as a long-time admirer of CPR and the work that they do in the field of dispute resolution! Moreover, this book is a love letter to the field, distilling key themes emanating from my over 120 interviews of top arbitration leaders that were part of The Arbitration Conversation podcast. Indeed, I am incredibly thankful to all who participated in the interviews and to Colin Rule for his collaboration with the podcast. As the book highlights, the interviews underscored the adaptability and problem-solving power of dispute resolution processes, as well as the innovative spirit driving the evolution of arbitration in the digital age,” said Professor Schmitz.
The Outstanding Professional Article Award is for a professional article published by academics and other professionals in November 2023-October 2024 that advances understanding in the field of ADR. There are two winners this year for the Outstanding Professional Article.
The Outstanding Professional Article Award was presented to Art Hinshaw and Roselle L. Wissler for “Comparing Joint Session and Caucus Outcomes: Factoring in Substantive Discussions and Case Characteristics,” 25 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 491 (2024).
Hinshaw is the Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, John J. Bouma Fellow in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Clinical Professor of Law, and Founding Director of the Lodestar Dispute Resolution Center at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. Wissler recently retired from her role as the Research Director of the Lodestar Dispute Resolution Center at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University.
The findings reported in the article, which are based on the survey responses of over 1,000 mediators in eight states across the country, show that the relative pros and cons of beginning the initial mediation session in joint session or in separate caucuses depend on the extent of substantive discussions and participant interactions during the initial session as well as on several case characteristics, not solely on whether the disputants are together or apart.
“We are grateful to CPR for recognizing the need for empirical study of what mediators and mediation participants actually do during initial joint sessions and initial caucuses and the effects those actions have on mediation outcomes. The award will make more mediators aware of the findings -- that some common assertions about the benefits of the parties being together or apart, per se, are not supported, but that discussions and participant interactions during the initial session play a large role in outcomes,” the authors said in a joint statement.
The Outstanding Professional Article Award was also presented to Michael Z. Green for “Expanding the Ban on Forced Arbitration to Race Claims,” 72 Kan. L. Rev. 455 (2024).
Professor Green is the Professor of Law and the Director of the Workplace Law Program at Texas A&M University School of Law. He is also a labor and employment mediator and arbitrator.
In “Expanding the Ban on Forced Arbitration,” Green argues that race discrimination claims like sexual harassment claims should also be exempt from compulsory arbitration. This article examines history, processes and case law and recommends that the private sector act where Congress has not.
“After twenty-five years as a law faculty member who published his first key law review article on arbitration in 2000, recognition of my scholarly work has come full circle with the receipt of the 2024 CPR Award for Outstanding Article,” Professor Green said. “Given CPR’s reputation in dispute resolution, I will remain forever grateful for this prestigious honor based on my most recent article on how race disputes can be resolved after a recent amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act.”
The Outstanding Short Article Award is for a short professional short article published by academics and other professionals in November 2023-October 2024 that advances understanding in the field of ADR.
This year’s Outstanding Short Article Award was presented to Melvin Loh for “The Power of Stories: Advocating for Therapeutic Justice Through Mediation,” 2023 Asian Journal on Mediation 1 (December 2023).
Loh is a Senior Lecturer in the Singapore University of Social Sciences School of Law.
Loh’s article looks specifically at the telling of stories in mediation, for instance through narrative mediation, which may serve as a means to benefit from the pursuit and the achievement of therapeutic justice in the long run.
“This award celebrates the culmination of dedicated effort and also motivates me to continue advocating for mediation as a vital access to justice mechanism. I am committed to furthering our understanding and implementation of therapeutic justice, striving to uphold and advance the high standards set by CPR,” Loh said.
The 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 2023-October 2024.
The Outstanding Student Article Award went to Samuel Cole for “Bargaining in the Shadow of the EFAA,” which is to be published in the University of Missouri School of Law Journal on Dispute Resolution in 2025.
Cole is a J.D. candidate (2025) at University of Chicago Law School.
His article examines the distinction between arbitration agreements contained in collective bargaining agreements and arbitration agreements contained in contracts between employers and at-will employees and the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Claims Act. Sam delves into the ambiguities of the statute’s application or not to unionized workers and proposes innovative solutions.
Cole said, “I am deeply humbled to receive the Joseph T. McLaughlin Original Student Article Award. To have my research recognized by CPR, a leader in dispute resolution, is an extraordinary honor. I am particularly grateful to Professor Ariana Levinson for her invaluable feedback and thoughtful comments that helped strengthen this article, and to my mom, Professor Sarah Cole, for her exceptional mentorship throughout my academic (and life) journey.”
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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