Saturday, March 24, 2007

Los Angeles City Counsel Declares March 24, 2007 Mediation Day


What a thrill to be included in the Third Year of Mediation Recognition before the Los Angeles City Counsel. Counselwoman Wendy Greuel is enlightened enough to sponsor this Declaration, and Daniel Ben Zvi, our Chairperson, is gracious enough to allow SCMA to be represented through its leadership and alliances. This year, I appeared, together with Past President, Max Factor, III on behalf of SCMA, with Avis-Ridley Thomas, who runs the City of L.A.'s Mediation Program and The President-elect of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, Randall Dean, and Scott Carr, Board Member of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

The most gratifying part for me was an interruption in the presentation by Councilman, Bill Rosendahl. Last year at this time, I was working towards convening a mediation on a heated housing issue in Councilman Rosendahl's district. Ultimately, the matter was mediated by Peter Robinson, Director of the Straus Institute. The battle was lost and the matter proceeded to trial...but the war may have been won nevertheless. Congressman Rosendahl spoke eloquently about how well the process works and how he experienced the value of the communication. Voila! That was all the recognition I needed...but the certificate is itself a thing of beauty and will be framed and hang proudly in SCMA's new Offices.

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