PHILADELPHIA – Stradley Ronon Senior Counsel Bennett G. Picker delivered an address, “The Landscape of ADR: The Past 40 Years,” at a dinner meeting of the Association of Conflict Resolution’s Greater Philadelphia Chapter on Sept. 27. The presentation explored the origins of commercial mediation from its start in the mid-to-late 1970s through the present, and the ways in which the process and business of mediation have changed over the decades.
Picker, a full-time mediator and arbitrator, has spent more than three decades dedicating himself to promoting and improving the field of ADR in across the nation and throughout the world. He has successfully resolved hundreds of domestic and international disputes with a cumulative value of several billion dollars. Picker has held leadership positions in organizations such as the American Arbitration Association, CPR – the International Institute of Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and the American Bar Association and also led a national task force dedicated to promoting diversity in ADR. He authored one of the first books on mediation published by the ABA in the 1990s and has written numerous other books and articles on ADR. Most recently, Picker was designated by the International Mediation Institute to serve as its delegate to the United Nations where he is working with ministers of several nations to explore the potential for mediation to serve as a means of avoiding and resolving public conflicts. In addition to his work in ADR, Picker has served as Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association and is Co-Founder of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in eight strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.