2021 Judicial Conference Program

ADR in the Maryland Rules Subcommittee The Subcommittee on ADR in the Maryland Rules met in December 2019, and again in August of 2020. The subcommittee identified priorities for review and agreed to consider revisions to Title 17 of the Maryland Rules, which governs ADR in the courts, and to draft proposed changes. Those revisions will be forwarded to the ADR Committee for consideration and ultimately passed along to the Rules Committee. ADR Program and Practitioner Quality Assurance The Work Group on Mediation Quality Assurance for Programs and Practitioners met on December 10, 2019, to begin the process of assessing best practice topics for court-based mediation programs in Maryland. The work group is comprised of court administrators, ADR roster and programmanagers, and representatives from ADR practitioner organizations. The work group is tasked to review best practices for court-based ADR programs in Maryland, study the issue of assessing mediation quality, and make recommendations to the ADR Committee based on its work and study. The work group also will assess the National Standards for Court-Connected Mediation Programs created by the State Justice Institute, Center for Dispute Settlement, and The Institute of Judicial Administration. Along with the ADR Committee, the work group will discuss strategies and recommendations to implement best practices to the court-based mediation program as identified in the Courthouse Equity Subcommittee Report, Programs, Services and Access Baseline and Goals for All Circuit Courts. Data Collection/ADRESS/MDEC ADR data collection efforts include ADRESS, each court’s own methodologies (including grant reporting), and MDEC event codes. The ADR Committee will continue supporting the Judiciary ADR offices in working with courts to institutionalize effective ADR data collection, including inviting and on-boarding additional circuit courts to use ADRESS. The ADR Committee and MACRO staff continued to work with circuit court ADR program administrators to explore ways that MDEC might better support circuit court ADR programs. Additionally, MACRO and District Court ADR staff have developed online evaluation surveys for use in remote mediations in circuit courts and District Court pre-trial ADR programs. ADR Programs and Services The ADR Committee discussed strategies and recommendations to implement the court-based ADR processes identified in the Courthouse Equity Subcommittee Report, Programs, Services and Access Baseline and Goals for All Circuit Courts. This will include implementing ADR programs in courts where they do not currently exist. This goal is connected to the work of the Mediation Quality Assurance for Programs and Practitioners Work. Rosters of ADR Practitioners The ADR Committee continued to consider and process ADR practitioners’ applications to be included on existing statewide rosters for Business Technology and Health Care Malpractice cases. The committee continued discussion about the revisions to be made to a new draft of a statewide ADR practitioner application form. Convening Court ADR Program Managers The ADR Committee supported efforts to bring together court ADR programmanagers to share resources, successes, and challenges. In early April, MACRO staff began convening weekly calls with circuit court ADR programmanagers across the state, to support collaboration in the response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through these calls, circuit court ADR programmanagers shared information and was supported in providing online remote mediation at a time when face-to-face mediation was not been possible. Video Series The ADR Committee reviewed and approved scripts for a new four-part video series on mediation, developed by AOC Access to Justice department and MACRO. The video series is expected to launch before the end of 2020.

GOALS/INITIATIVES FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR

MDEC Rule 20-109 (e) Implementation and Statewide Roster Application Process. The ADR Committee will support the creation of a centralized circuit court ADR practitioner roster to support the implementation of proposed Rule 20-109(e), which provides for ADR practitioner to have access to MDEC. The committee will continue discussion about the revisions to be made to a new draft of a statewide ADR practitioner application form and develop and propose the additional rule changes needed to support a statewide circuit court ADR practitioner application process.

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