CPR Outstanding Contributions to Diversity in ADR Winners are Announced

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 Professor of Law Emeritus Benjamin G. Davis of University of Toledo Law School (retired), and Amanda Lee, founder of Careers in Arbitration and ARBalance, are the recipients of the 2022 Outstanding Contribution to Diversity in ADR award.

Professor Davis has devoted his entire career to equality work. He has worked across diversity genres and has advocated for the inclusion of racial minorities, women, people with disabilities, and people of differing sexual orientations.

In 2018 as Chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association, Professor Davis led efforts toward the unanimous adoption of Resolution 105 on Diverse Neutrals. In the four years since, Resolution 105 has inspired empirical research on the inclusion of diverse neutrals in ADR, publications and conferences, and the establishment of at least one non-profit organization dedicated to the increased participation of diverse neutrals in ADR (the Ray Corollary Initiative). Thanks to this work, ADR providers actively and publicly monitor whether diverse neutrals are being appointed to cases.

“I am amazed and deeply moved that the world-renowned CPR selected me to be a recipient for this Award, which honors those who have gone before, who work now, and who work in the future to make the Alternative Dispute Resolution field reflect and represent all,” said Davis. “It is a field I have been passionate about for 41 years in the international and domestic arena. It is deeply appreciated that you have heard and heed the longstanding call globally for the ADR community to appoint as neutrals and develop as practitioners minorities, women, LGBTQ, and lawyers with disabilities. It is what we do together that will make all the difference for students, practitioners, educators, business and the world community.”

Amanda Lee, FCIArb, founded Careers in Arbitration in 2019, with the express goal of leveling the playing field for the next generation of talent, especially for diverse lawyers. Careers in Arbitration is a LinkedIn-based information-sharing platform that makes it possible for aspiring arbitration counsel across the globe to learn about the latest opportunities in the ADR space.

Lee has also used Careers in Arbitration to run three International Women’s Day campaigns, shining a spotlight on female practitioners and arbitrators across the globe.

In 2021 she introduced her latest diversity initiative, an arbitrator shadowing/observation protocol first developed in 2018, which is designed to increase diversity in the arbitrator pool by providing opportunities for the next generation of arbitrators to shadow and learn from established arbitrators, build connections with institutional secretariats, and normalize and increase the visibility of diverse arbitrators amongst parties.

Lee is an international arbitrator and is a member of many ADR organizations, including the ArbitralWomen Advisory Council, and serves as a R.E.A.L. – Racial Equality for Arbitration Lawyers Ambassador.

"I would like to thank CPR for selecting me as a recipient of its prestigious ‘Outstanding Contribution to Diversity’ Award,” said Amanda Lee. “I am honored to follow in the footsteps of the distinguished past recipients. This recognition, and the spotlight it shines on my work, gives me an additional incentive to continue rolling up my sleeves, alongside the many unsung diversity heroes in our community, and striving for a better, fairer, more legitimate ADR world. We still have a long, hard struggle on our hands, but, as the song goes, '… we’ll keep on fighting till the end'."

“Increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in ADR is an imperative for us at CPR. We have identified two award recipients in Ben and Amanda who have been champions in their words and actions for finding ways to expand the field of ADR to include more diverse neutrals. Ben’s work on Resolution 105, for example, is a cornerstone of CPR’s own diversity efforts. Amanda’s recognition that to develop the next generation of diverse neutrals requires learning opportunities for them is critical to enable more diversity in the field. We are excited to be honoring both of them,” said Allen Waxman, President & CEO of the CPR Institute.

The award presentation took place on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at the 2023 CPR Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Submissions for the Outstanding Contribution to Diversity in ADR award are reviewed by a panel consisting of past winners, the co-chairs of CPR’s National Task Force on Diversity in ADR, and the CPR President & CEO.

To learn more about CPR visit cpradr.org.

ABOUT CPR:

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-style 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 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. To learn more, visit drs.cpradr.org.

MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Lili Schroppe
Director, Marketing and Communications
lschroppe@cpradr.org
646-753-8204, 203-470-9391

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