Atlanta – JAMS, The Resolution Experts, the largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services worldwide, is proud to announce that JAMS neutral R. Wayne Thorpe, Esq. will serve as the Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. Current Chair Homer C. La Rue, Esq., also a JAMS neutral, will hand over the Chairmanship to Thorpe at the conclusion of the American Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco, August 3 – 10, 2010.
”Homer has done a fantastic job and it is an honor to have another JAMS neutral lead the Dispute Resolution Section of the ABA” said Chris Poole, JAMS President and CEO. “Wayne is one of the leading ADR professionals in the country and we know he will provide great leadership and be a tremendous resource for the Section.”
“I’m thrilled to have this honor and serve in this role,” Thorpe said. “I look forward to working with all of the Section’s constituents, including parties, lawyer-advocates, neutrals, provider organizations, courts, teachers and trainers and many others in the improvement of ADR services both in the US and globally so that these services can continue to better meet ADR users’ needs.”
Thorpe has extensive experience in resolving civil disputes, including business, commercial, environmental, employment, products and professional liability, insurance, construction, healthcare and intellectual property claims. He is based in the JAMS Atlanta Resolution Center.
Thorpe previously served as the Chair-Elect for the ADR section in 2009. He has been named for several years in The Best Lawyers in America and Georgia Super Lawyers. In 1997 he was appointed by the Georgia Supreme Court to the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution. Until 1998, Thorpe was a litigation partner in a large Atlanta law firm; he has also taught ADR courses in several law schools.
La Rue has worked as a mediator and arbitrator for more than 20 years and has resolved employment disputes and labor and non-labor disputes, both in the public and the private sectors. He is based in the JAMS Washington D.C. Resolution Center.
About JAMS, The Resolution Experts
Founded in 1979, JAMS, The Resolution Experts, is the world’s largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services. With Resolution Centers nationwide and abroad, JAMS and its 250 full-time, exclusive neutrals are responsible for resolving thousands of the nation's most important cases. JAMS may be reached at 800-352-5267.
About ABA Section on Dispute Resolution
The Section of Dispute Resolution is one of the ABA's newest and fastest growing Sections with nearly 20,000 members. The Section was established in 1993 and works to maintain the ABA's national leadership role in the dispute resolution field. For further information, please contact the Section of Dispute Resolution, 740 Fifteenth Street, NW, Washington DC 20005, telephone 202-662-1680 or visit http://www.abanet.org/dispute/.
