Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) - Research Guide
By Nancee Halling, Branch Librarian, St. Paul
Introduction | Statutes | Cases | Regs, Rules, Forms | Agencies
Treatises | Law Reviews | Listservs, Blogs, News | Related Resources
ADR is an umbrella term which refers to alternatives to court litigation. The two most common forms of ADR used by the federal courts are:
• mediation - voluntary, informal but confidential process that can occur at any point in the litigation. A neutral facilitates the discussion between the parties and helps them find a mutually acceptable, but non-binding resolution.
• arbitration - formal process usually occurring after core discovery has been completed. An arbitrator hears adversarial presentations and issues a decision based upon the facts and applicable law. Parties can accept the decision or request a trial de novo.
The Federal Arbitration Act (see Statutes below) was passed by Congress in 1925. It was the first official approval to use arbitration, but only in commercial disputes. With the passage of the Civil Justice Reform Act (104 Stat 5089, 5090-96) in 1990, the judiciary was required to create plans to reduce costs and delays, ADR being mentioned as a management principle. In 1998, based upon the courts’ experiences with ADR, Congress passed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act which required the courts to adopt ADR programs. (112 Stat 2993).
The purpose of this guide is to give you a starting point in your research. Just looking for a quick overview? Check out ADR Basics, an online publication of William Mitchell College of Law.
Direct Links:
5 U.S.C. §561-570a (Pt.1, Chap.5, Subchap.III) - Negotiated Rulemaking
LII, House of Reps, Findlaw, USC, USCA, USCS
5 U.S. C. §571- 584 (Pt. 1, Chap. 5, Subchap. IV) - Administrative Dispute Resolution
LII, House of Reps, Findlaw, USC, USCA, USCS
9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq - Federal Arbitration Act
LII, House of Reps, Findlaw, USC, USCA, USCS
28 U.S.C. § § 651 - 658 (Pt. III, Chap. 44) - Alternative Dispute Resolution Act
LII, House of Reps, Findlaw, USC, USCA, USCS
29 U.S.C. §171-173 (Chap. 7, Conciliation...)- Federal Mediation and Conciliation
LII, House of Reps, Findlaw, USC, USCA, USCS
Westlaw: arbitration - fed govt empl:ARB-CS, ARB-DEC; Natl Mediation Bd: FLB-NMB; securities: FSEC-ARB, NASD-ARB; labor: LAIS; internet: UDRP-ARB
Lexis: ADR, federal & state cases combined: MEGA
Labor Relations Reference Manual; (opinions and decisions of the National Labor Relations Board); KF 3315 .L43; Located in Fargo, Kansas City, Little Rock, Minneapolis, Omaha, and St. Louis.
Labor Arbitrations Reports; (awards and decisions of the National Wage Stabilization Board); KF 3315 .L44; Located in Minneapolis, and St. Louis.
Regulations, Model Rules & Standards, Forms
Federal Civil Judicial Procedures and Rules,Rule 16(c)
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 7016, 9019
Code of Federal Regulations; KR 70 .A3;
Located in all 8th Circuit libraries. Available online: GPOAccess (1996-); GPO’s eCFR (current); LII (current); Westlaw (1984-): CFR; Lexis (1981-): CFR.
ADR regulations have been created by several individual federal agencies; search by keywords “ADR” or “alternative dispute resolution” to locate them.
Guide to Judicial Policies and Procedures, Vol. 4, Chap. 18 “Alternative Dispute Resolution” http://jnet.ao.dcn/Guide/Volume_4/Chapter_18.html
ABA Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct 5th Ed.; KF 305 .A2 2003; Located in Des Moines, Fargo, Lincoln, Little Rock, Minneapolis, Omaha, St. Louis, and St. Paul. Available on Westlaw: ABA-AMRPC
Uniform Arbitration Act, Vol 7, Pt. 1 of Uniform Laws Annotated; KF 165 .A6 1976; Located in Des Moines, Fargo, Kansas City, Lincoln, Little Rock, Minneapolis, Omaha, St. Louis, and St. Paul; available online at Natl. Conf. of Comm. on Uniform State Laws; Lexis at: ARBACT and Westlaw at: ULA.
Uniform Mediation Act, by Natl. Conf. of Comm. on Uniform State Laws.
American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms; KF8836 .A45; Located in Des Moines. Available on Westlaw: AMJUR-PP.
Federal Procedural Forms; KF8836 .F4; Located in Kansas City, Little Rock, Omaha, and St. Louis. Available on Westlaw: FEDPROF.
Nichols Cyclopedia of Legal Forms Annotated; KF 170 .N5; Located in St. Louis. Available on Westlaw: NICHOLS-LF.
West’s Legal Forms; KF1384 .A65 W47 1981; Located in Des Moines, and Fargo. Available on Westlaw: WEST-LF.
American Arbitration Association (AAA). Professional association provides links to rules, procedures and links to other associations by area of activity, codes of ethics, model standards and guides to ADR, forms, links to federal and state statutes, and ADR news. Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators .
American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution (ABA). Professional association provides links to model standards and codes of ethics, section publications, a public discussion forum, and news updates.
Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) Professional association provides bibliography of books and articles for court-annexed ADR, articles, and links to federal and state legislative and regulatory information.
Center for Public Resources (CPR) Georgetown Commission on Ethics & Standards in ADR provides links to publications, procedures, ethics, standards and information in different practice areas. Online form book provides downloadable model procedures, ADR clauses, model forms, and pledges.
Interagency Alternative Dispute Resolution Working Group. Working group of federal agencies established to coordinate and facilitate ADR processes. Provides links to documents, books and articles, speeches, and instructive materials such as Federal ADR Program Manager’s Resource Manual. Links to several federal agency ADR program websites.
Judicial Arbitration and Medication Services (JAMS). Mediation and arbitration guides and rules. Links to other standards and procedures by field.
National Arbitration Forum (NAF). Mediation and arbitration standards, resources, white papers and news.
Other useful titles not listed here are held by the library. Locate them by searching the Library catalog using the keywords arbitration, mediation, dispute resolution or conflict management.
ADR and Settlement in the Federal District Courts: A Sourcebook for Judges and Lawyers, by E. Plapinger and D. Steinstra; KF9084 .P53 1996; Located in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Fargo, Lincoln, Little Rock, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and St. Paul. Lexis: CPRSJL. See FJC for other ADR publications.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide, by Bette Roth; KF 9085 .A933, Located in Fargo, Lincoln, Omaha.
Alternatives to Litigation: Mediation, Arbitration, and the Art of Dispute Resolution 2nd ed., A. Doneff; KF9084 .O73 2002; Located in Fargo, and St. Paul.
Center for Public Resources Model ADR Procedures and Practice series. Not currently held by library. Westlaw: CPR-MAPP; Lexis.
Federal Dispute Resolution: Using ADR with the United States Government, by Jeffrey Senger; KF 5417 .S46 2004; Located in St. Paul.
Guide to Judicial Management of Cases in ADR , by Robert Niemic; KF9084 .N539 2002; Located in Cedar Rapids, Kansas City, Lincoln, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and St. Paul. Available on Westlaw: JUDMGMTADR. See FJC for other ADR publications.
How Arbitration Works, by F. Elkouri; KF3424 .E53 2003; Located in Fargo, Kansas City, Little Rock, St. Paul.
Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation. Published monthly by CPR Institute of Dispute Resolution. Located in St. Louis. Available on Lexis (1993-): ALTERN.
Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution. Web-based journal published semi-annually by Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. Available on Westlaw (1997-): CDZOJCR; Lexis (1999/2000 -): COJCR
Dispute Resolution Journal. Published quarterly by the AAA. Located in Fargo. Available on Lexis (1993-2003): DRJNL; Westlaw (1993-): DRJ
Dispute Resolution Magazine. Published quarterly by ABA, Section of Dispute Resolution. Available on Westlaw (1996-): DISPRES
Harvard Negotiation Law Review. Published annually. Available on Lexis (1997-): HRVNLR; Westlaw (1995-): HVNLR; Hein (1996-).
Journal of Dispute Resolution. Published semi-annually by Univ. of MO-Columbia School of Law . Located in Kansas City, and St. Louis. Available on Westlaw (1993-): JDR; Lexis (1995-): JDISPR.
Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution. Official journal of ABA Section on Dispute Resolution, published quarterly by Ohio State University College of Law. Available on Lexis (1995-): OHSJDR; Westlaw (1993-): OHSJDR; Hein (1985-).
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal. Published three times per year Law. Available on Westlaw (2000-): PEPDRLJ; Lexis (2000 -): PEPPDR; Hein (2000-).
Listservs, Blogs & Newsletters
ADR@aba.org. Listserv for the public hosted by ABA Section on Dispute Resolution “dedicated to dialog and the promotion of wider understanding and information-sharing.”
ARBITRATION BLOG. Covers employment and labor arbitration.
Dispute-Res@Findlaw. Listserv hosted by Cornell discussing ADR issues, requesting information and making general announcements.
Interagency Alternative Dispute Resolution Working Group. Listserv of federal ADR professionals to ask questions and have discussions with other of federal ADR professionals throughout the country.
CERS Newsletter (PDF). E-newsletter, published periodically by the Interagency Alternate Dispute Resolution, Civil Enforcement and Regulatory Section. Free.
Just Resolutions (PDF). E-newsletter published three times per year by American Bar Association, Section of Dispute Resolution. Free.
Recent Developments in Dispute Resolution. E-newsletter with updates for all areas of dispute resolution. Produced bi-weekly by the Center for Dispute Resolution, Willamette College of Law. Free.
ADA Mediation Standards . ADA guidelines arising out of T 42 USC 12101-12213.
Conflict Resolution Information Source . Peace and conflict resolution information provided by U of CO. Links to web pages, organizations & ADA news.
Cornell University Institute of Conflict Resolution . Workplace and organizational conflict resolution. Links to federal, state and organizational resources.
National Academy of Arbitrators . Labor-manager disputes, Code of Professional Responsibility for Arbitrators.
National Association of Securities Dealers . Securities disputes arbitration with links to procedural codes and awards.
ODR.info. Online dispute resolution news, articles and links from Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution, U of Mass.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Federal employee relations ADR techniques and practices and an online guide Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Resource Guide.
Metasites
LLRX.com: Legal research bibliographies
“A Selective Guide to Online International Arbitration Resources”/ “Researching Labor Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution in Employment”/ “Cybersquatting - the Ins and outs of Domain Dispute Resolution“/ “International Commercial Arbitration: Locating the Resources”
Findlaw - Dispute Resolution Arbitration and Mediation Links. A good overall source for professional, business and international organizations, educational programs, articles and other resources.
HierosGamos Alternative Dispute Resolution. Comprehensive source of international treaties and organizations, federal and state laws, regulations and cases, publications and associations.
Legal Information Institute (LII) Provides links to federal and state statutes and court decisions, international treaties, associations and other ADR related resources.
Guide created April 2005.