Irvine, CA - JAMS, the largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services in the United States, today announced that it has selected eight fellows from more than 50 applicants for the 2010-2011 Weinstein International Fellowship program. The program, named to honor the contributions of JAMS mediator Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.), one of the original members of JAMS, provides opportunities for ADR professionals from throughout the world to learn more about dispute resolution in the United States. Under the tutelage of JAMS and seasoned JAMS neutrals, Weinstein Fellows pursue projects of their own design that advance ADR practices in their home countries.
“We are pleased that the second group of Weinstein Fellows includes such extensive experience and diversity of nationalities,” said Judge Weinstein, a retired San Francisco Superior Court judge and a member of the JAMS Foundation Board of Directors. “Each was chosen based on a series of criteria including his or her vision for their role in the development of ADR in their home country, as well as the ability to implement their proposed idea after returning home.”
“The Weinstein Fellows we selected for this year’s program are dedicated to promoting ADR in their native countries,” said Chris Poole, JAMS Foundation President and JAMS President and CEO. “Thanks to Judge Weinstein’s generosity and commitment, the International Fellowship program has become a true and meaningful exchange of ideas.”
“The Weinstein Fellowships provide a unique opportunity for us at JAMS to share our ADR experience and know-how with emerging, as well as established, ADR leaders from other countries. We, in turn, are enriched by the interchange and learn from it,” said Jay Folberg, Executive Director of the JAMS Foundation. “The depth and diversity of the 53 applicants far exceeded our expectations.”
In the coming months, those selected will arrive in the U.S. to begin their fellowships, which will last from one month to one year, and each will be based in a major city that has a JAMS Resolution Center. In addition to their affiliation with JAMS, most fellows will have other commitments, including participation in university-based dispute resolution programs. The following individuals have been selected for the Weinstein International Fellowship program.
- Galyna Eremenko (Ukraine) - Chicago: Ms. Eremenko currently serves as Director of the Ukrainian Mediation Center, the first private provider of mediation services in the Ukraine. During her fellowship, she will meet and observe JAMS neutrals, business managers, and case managers, and research efforts to institutionalize mediation through professional education and public policy.
- Aminu Gamawa (Nigeria) - Boston: Mr. Gamawa is a Nigerian lawyer currently pursuing an LL.M degree at Harvard and intent upon returning to Nigeria to facilitate peaceful conflict resolution across ethnic and religious divides. His fellowship will focus on working with law students, lawyers, and community and religious leaders to implement conflict resolution initiatives in Nigeria. Upon his return, he will begin teaching lawyers to serve as trainers to others to extend the message of ADR to the broader Nigerian community.
- Tilahun Retta (Ethiopia) - Washington, DC: Mr. Retta served as Presiding Judge of the Supreme Court of Ethiopia and has extensive experience as an arbitrator. He currently serves as Dean of the Addis Ababa Law School. The focus of his fellowship will include writing a comparative study of ADR methods that will be developed into both an ADR textbook and curriculum for use in Ethiopian law schools as well as among lawyers, government officials and the general public.
- Fraser Sampson (United Kingdom) - Los Angeles/New York/Boston: Mr. Sampson intends to work closely with the Western Justice Center Foundation and other organizations to gather primary evidence of how mediation is used as an alternative approach to resolving police and community disputes in the U.S. in order to implement a similar program in the U.K.
- Hagit Shaked-Gvili (Israel) - San Francisco/San Jose: Ms. Shaked-Gvili is the Founder and Director of the first court-annexed ADR and case management program in Israel. She is currently managing a mediation clinic at Stanford University until she returns to Israel at the end of 2010 to continue her efforts to improve the Israeli ADR system. Ms. Shaked-Gvili plans to continue working with Israeli courts, teach and practice mediation, and establish an online dispute resolution initiative to increase access to and lower the cost of conflict resolution services.
- Lilian Vargas (Argentina) - New York/Washington, DC: Ms. Vargas is a lawyer and mediator with extensive experience in ADR. She currently serves as Executive Director of the International Conflict Management Center. A pioneer in ADR and community mediation efforts in Argentina, Ms. Vargas has obtained the formal support of key legislative, executive and judicial bodies in her region to develop a conflict resolution/mediation advocacy program in Chaco, a province increasingly marked by conflict and violence.
- Nicola White (Ireland) - San Francisco: Ms. White is currently finalizing a report on ADR for the Law Reform Commission of Ireland and is working with the legislature to draft a bill on mediation and conciliation. Her fellowship activities will include observing how court-connected ADR programs function in California and the role that JAMS neutrals play in such programs.
- Ralph Zulman (South Africa) - New York/San Francisco: Judge Zulman is retired from the Supreme Court of South Africa and currently works as an arbitrator of tax disputes and other commercial matters. He plans to further the development of ADR in Africa by participating in the Africa-ADR Initiative of the Association of Arbitrators, a non-profit pan-African organization advocating the resolution of regional and international disputes through arbitration, mediation or conciliation. His fellowship will focus on meeting with and observing the work of JAMS neutrals and studying the administration of civil disputes in the U.S.
The inaugural class of Weinstein Fellows included the following individuals. Most have completed, or are nearing completion of their fellowship and have made significant progress towards their self-designed projects.
- Badri Bhandari (Nepal): A Mediator for the Supreme Court of Nepal and Patan Appellate Court, and a Mediation Consultant for the U.N. Development Program, Mr. Bhandari is pursuing a LL.M. degree from The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law . He was based in the JAMS Los Angeles and Santa Monica Resolution Centers. His project is designed to strengthen the practice of court-referred mediation in Nepal.
- Ximena Bustamante (Ecuador): As the Deputy Director of the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Quito Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Bustamante intends to return to her home country to develop the field of ADR and to train other ADR professionals. She is pursuing a LL.M. degree at The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law and spent significant time in the JAMS Resolution Centers in Santa Monica and Los Angeles.
- Tsisana Chamlikashvili (Russia): With a diverse background that includes a Ph.D. in neurology and her role as editor-in-chief of the only Russian-language magazine focused on mediation, Ms. Chamlikashvili studied the organizational structure, methods and mediation practices of JAMS. She spent time in five Resolution Centers working to establish contacts for cooperation in resolving disputes between American and Russian companies.
- Ahmed El Feqy (Egypt): During his fellowship Mr. El Feqy, an attorney who specializes in dispute resolution, participated in post-graduate studies in mediation and observed ADR practices at the JAMS New York Resolution Center. His intention is to design a working model for implementing and advancing mediation practices in Egypt. After becoming a certified mediator, he plans to train other mediators in the Middle East.
- Mohan Lal Mehta (India): As a district court judge in Delhi, India, Judge Lal Mehta has successfully mediated 500 diverse civil cases and has helped establish mediation centers in India. His fellowship focused on research of ADR processes and practices in contractual and commercial transactions, with the objective to design a mediation and conciliation training module, for use in training mediators in India. He also participated in the Stanford Law School Gould Negotiation and Mediation Program as a Visiting Fellow.
- Orouba Qarain (Jordan): As a Senior Legal Consultant to the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, Ms. Qarain is pursuing a post-graduate program at The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law. Ms. Qarain has been affiliated with the JAMS Los Angeles and Santa Monica Resolution Centers. She plans to continue her work to advance the use of ADR, including mediation programs in courts inside and outside of Amman.
- Srdan Simac (Croatia): A judge with the High Commercial Court of the Republic of Croatia and a founder of the Croatian Mediation Association, Judge Simac conducted mediation and dispute resolution research at Suffolk University Law School as part of his PhD in mediation. In addition, he spent time in JAMS Boston Resolution Center observing JAMS neutrals. He also studied court ADR systems in the United States and attended ADR Conferences. He plans to use the knowledge he has gained to implement further ADR reforms in Croatia and the development of mediation in the commercial courts.
- Giulio Zanolla (Italy): Mr. Zanolla, is a legal consultant who focuses on alternative dispute resolution. Splitting time between the JAMS New York, Los Angeles and Santa Monica Resolution Centers, he studied the effective integration of ADR practices into the U.S. legal system, with the goal to further its acceptance and development in Italy. He is seeking to develop court-annexed ADR programs supported by the Italian judiciary, to expand Italy’s university-level ADR education, and to implement peer mediation and conflict resolution education for middle-and high-school students.
About the JAMS Foundation
The non-profit JAMS Foundation is the largest private provider of ADR-related grants in the world. The Foundation was established in 2002 by JAMS, The Resolution Experts, and is funded by JAMS mediators, arbitrators and employee associates who contribute a percentage of their income. The JAMS Foundation has provided more than $2.6 million in grant funding since its inception. More information about the JAMS Foundation may be found at www.jamsfoundation.org.
Founded in 1979, JAMS, The Resolution Experts, is the largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services in the United States. With Resolution Centers nationwide, JAMS and its 250 full-time, exclusive neutrals are responsible for resolving thousands of the nation’s more important cases. JAMS may be reached at 800-352-5267 or www.jamsadr.com.