The Bankruptcy Code directs the trustee in “Subchapter V” small business debtor cases to “facilitate a consensual plan of reorganization.”[1] Earlier this year, the ABI Mediation and Reorganization Committees invited their members to participate in a survey to assess how this mandate has been implemented in practice.
As we exit the pandemic to a new beginning with soon-to-be-“in-person” events, the Mediation Committee is on a mission to join in on the happenings.
Wanted: Mediation Committee Leaders
The Mediation Committee continues to make things happen, notwithstanding the pandemic.
Education
The Mediation Committee has been working nonstop since our last newsletter.
In January 1918, a soldier stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., reported to the base hospital suffering from flu-like symptoms: a sore throat, fever and chest pain. By lunchtime that day, more than 100 soldiers had come down with the same mysterious malady. This was the beginning of the influenza pandemic that struck the U.S., and later the world, a century ago.
Notwithstanding the pandemic and to no surprise, the mediation committee has been active this summer. Kudos to our past and present committee leaders who are vested in building our membership and driving the practice benefits of an educated mediation process.
This article first appeared in the Maine Lawyers Review, June 18, 2020.
On August 5, 2019, I had the enlightening opportunity of discussing mediation with Rick Mikels, a seasoned bankruptcy practitioner whose appreciation for the nuances of mediation is remarkable. Rick was one of the first students of the ABI/St.
Anyone who has spent any time mediating, either representing a party or acting as the neutral, knows that the role of a mediator is typically defined by the parties, the nature of the litigation and the best path toward a resolution. Certainly, a mediator is a neutral facilitator, but the same can be said of arbitrators.
Every once in a great while, a group of people perform a voluntary service of hard and diligent effort that produces a result of excellence and provides great value to others. That is precisely what a small group of people did in creating model local rules and supporting commentary on bankruptcy mediation.
