Chairperson of the Commission on Dispute Resolution Magistrate Richard “Dick” Altman welcomes more than 400 attendees to the Court’s first statewide Dispute Resolution Conference at the Ohio Union on the campus of The Ohio State University.

Supreme Court of Ohio Administrative Director Mike Buenger opens the morning plenary session by addressing Dispute Resolution for the 21st Century and the role of courts, attorneys and others.

Keynote speaker, former U.S. District Judge Layn Phillips, shares his experiences serving as the court-appointed mediator for the NFL and 20,000 retired players over concussion-related brain injuries.

Lucas County Juvenile Court Magistrate Pamela Manning discusses the benefits of Child Protection Mediation as a way to engage families, encourage compliance, and expedite permanency.

Franklin County Municipal Court Small Claims and Dispute Resolution Manager Alex Sanchez shares how their court used online dispute resolution to enhance access to civil justice.

Professor Josh Stulberg, the Michael E. Moritz Chair in ADR at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, addresses a standing-room-only crowd on ways to strengthen mediator competence.

The lunch plenary session featured Professor Emeritus Nancy Rogers of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and nine national experts as they offered counsel to the hypothetical “Buckeye County Court” on the best thinking about dispute resolution.

Franklin County Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court Mediation Director Marya Kolman, Muskingum County Domestic Relations Judge Jeff Hooper, Tyler Technologies VP of Online Dispute Resolution Colin Rule, Mediation Training and Consultation Institute President Zena Zumeta, and the Director of Research at the Lodestar Dispute Resolution Center at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University Roselle Wissler took the stage at the lunch plenary to share their unique perspectives on dispute resolution.

Director of Research at the Lodestar Dispute Resolution Center at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University Roselle Wissler discusses social science research on dispute resolution with Professor Emeritus Nancy Rogers of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, former U.S. District Judge Layn Phillips, and Mediation Training and Consultation Institute President Zena Zumeta.

Suffolk University of Law Professor Dwight Golann shares his views on whether courts should offer dispute resolution processes other than mediation with Professor Tom Stipanowich, Dean of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law and Professor Ben Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law and Chair of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Polster discusses his experiences with dispute resolution in the Tamir Rice police shooting case and the multi-district opioid litigation as part of a presentation on the role of courts when conflicts polarize communities. Squire Patton Boggs attorney Leigh Anne Newcomer listens intently.

The Ohio Department of Education’s Brittany Miracle joins Lucas County Juvenile Court Mediation Director Heather Fournier, Ashtabula County Mediation Coordinator Teresa “Tammy” Martin-Kosier, Erie County Juvenile Court Diversion Coordinator and Mediator Shelisa Johnson, and Marion County Family Court Judge Robert Fragale to discuss dispute resolution options for juvenile courts and schools in light of recent changes to Ohio’s truancy laws.