2021 Judicial Conference Program

The self-help/community mediation connection provided individuals the opportunity to resolve their conflicts through mediation, and potentially keep cases off the dockets. Intake for these cases was offered in Spanish and English. Community Mediation Maryland began weekly calls with the community mediation centers across the state; MACRO staff participated in these calls to support their efforts. Support to ADR Practitioners: Navigating ADR Online Webinars Through the Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence, MACRO staff developed and presented a series of webinars to support practitioners transitioning to online ADR: • Navigating ADR Online: An Introduction ; Panelists Toby Treem Guerin, Center for Dispute Resolution, Maryland Carey Law; Joyce Mitchell, President, Joyce A. Mitchell and Associates; and John Greer, Patuxent Mediation Services; April 20, 2020 • Navigating ADR Online: Family Topics ; Panelists Nisa Subasinghe, AOC Juvenile and Family Services; Jessica Markham, Markham Law Firm; Louise Phipps Senft, Baltimore Mediation; May 15, 2020 • Navigating ADR Online: Intimate Partner Abuse Screening ; Panelists Sheri Tardio, Calvert Conflict Resolution Center; Jennifer Edwards, Advocate; August 10, 2020 • Navigating ADR Online: Accessibility, Interpreters, and ADA Accommodations ; Panelists Ksenia Boitsova, AOC Access to Justice; Lewis Dabney, Key Bridge Foundation. The webinars were conducted live to provide the opportunity for questions for the panelists, and the recordings are available on MACRO’s webpage on the Judiciary’s website. Pretrial ADR The District Court ADR Office shifted to delivering online alternative dispute resolution with the onset of the COVID-19 health emergency; first through partnerships with community mediation centers statewide and, more recently, through the development of a Remote ADR Pretrial Pilot Program. Many of the formal District Court Pretrial Mediation Programs that existed prior to March 16, 2020 continued to operate in partnership with a community mediation center (CMC) between March 16 and June 8, 2020, as centers continued to work on cases referred to pre-trial mediation prior to the court closure. The ADR Office continued to field inquiries from the public post-March 16, and these calls resulted in new case referrals to CMC partners. The ‘formal’ elements of the pretrial mediation programs include: case review and screening; invitation to pretrial letters mailed to parties or their attorneys by the ADR Office; and, a follow-up phone call by the CMC to explain and answer questions about the mediation process, gauge interest in participation and if amenable by the parties, schedule a mediation. Similarly, as the ADR office received calls from the public inquiring about the use of ADR prior to filing a case in the District Court, they continued to refer disputes to community mediation center partners. Beginning June 8, 2020, the ADR office worked to identify ADR service options for the safe delivery of high-quality ADR in a COVID-19 environment. In doing so, the office focused on developing a Remote ADR Pretrial Pilot Program using the existing roster of qualified volunteer ADR practitioners, previously utilized in Day of Trial ADR programs statewide. Numerous shifts in the execution and delivery of services were required to transition from Day of Trial to the Remote ADR Program environment, including: scheduling, delivery of services (i.e., remote platform), case identification and status tracking, document sharing, acquiring signatures, and data collection, all of which were measured against safe access, ease of use, functionality, increasing efficiencies, and maximizing existing resources. The approval and acquisition of Zoom for Government was a critical development to solidify this preferred platform for remote ADR service delivery. Processes were established to capture electronic signatures from participants on the necessary documents, as well as to address confidentiality concerns. Additionally, a web page was created to inform the public about, and receive requests for, remote ADR for civil cases in the District Court. The ADR Office prepared and hosted a two-hour Remote ADR Pretrial Pilot Program Orientation to acquaint practitioners with program procedures, forms completion, and data collection on eight (8) occasions between August 4, and September 21, 2020. 147 of the qualified volunteer Day of Trial ADR practitioners attended. As part of the Quality Assurance Initiative to support ADR practitioners in the new DISTRICT COURT ADR OFFICE CONTINUATION OF DELIVERY OF SERVICES

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