Well, since 2009, I’ve been editing and writing the ADR Section, which includes mediation, arbitration, and special master for the civil desk book.  And that’s published by the Minnesota Bar Association and most of the lawyers and judges in Minnesota get that every year.  And we canvas the country, all 50 states, to find out what’s going on at the appellate level in mediation and arbitration and at the Supreme Court too and at the federal level.

And then we try and summarize the state of the art, if you will, in mediation and arbitration.  And that keeps me updated too on all the trends and all the different issues that are coming at the appellate level in various states.  And I find that very rewarding too, and I think it makes me a better mediator too ‘cause there is a lot of change going on right now.  Mediation is really growing in acceptability and use in almost all 50 states.

In fact, I mediate six, seven states already.  I got out on major cases in various states, and a lot states do not have the same kind of mandated mediation like Minnesota does, but writing that update every year keeps me in tune with what’s going on around the country too.