e Severe Lack of Diversity
urges firms to actively
ates for at least thirty
ees.
o the Rooney Rule in
res any team with a
interview at least one
le these are admirable
ary and very little has
e made it difficult
iator candidates to
pprentice mediations
ion. They argue that
ates are not qualified,
s liability exposure
lawyers. Nonsense,
e covers any errors
eme Court considered
changing the rules.
argue that there are
ow can that be when
s approximately 21.5
e only five thousand
ategories of Certified
ey really should be
excessive number of
e there are too many
. Perhaps it should
these firms to mentor
ediator candidates of
ain in good standing
The lack of diversity
diverse the pool, the
r new ideas, growth,
can be used to push
sing a diverse list of
ors.
gul and rapper, JayZ
$204 million-dollar
ced there were few
bitrators for him to
d to the court, which
of African American
iminatory under the
ork State. Again, this
s a need for greater
case that had been mediated twice before
however, remained unresolved. I accepted
the case, and after several hours, it was clear
that the lack of diversity was an important
issue.
The two previous mediators had been white
males. The injured plaintiff was the only
person of color involved. I suspect that I was
selected because I’m a person of color. The
plaintiff felt that his interest wasn’t being
protected because he had never seen anyone
who looked like him. Fortunately, I was able
to assist in getting the case resolved. The
plaintiff, just as JayZ, felt the process had
been discriminatory.
How can the mediation process be fair and
equitable if people of color aren’t involved in
meaningful numbers? The pool of mediators
should reflect the racial, ethnic and gender
diversity of the community. Sixteen percent
of Florida’s population, over three million,
are African American. How can we justify
having just over two hundred mediators of
color in all Certified categories? There are
seven mediators of color in the 15th Judicial
Circuit, covering Palm Beach County, an area
of 1.5 million people. These statistics are an
indictment of the mediation industry and
clearly indicate that the problems are both
systemic and institutional. Diversity is about
strength, not weakness. There is something
about every group that can improve the
whole. The ADR community must do better.
For additional ADR tips and resources,
please go to the ADR Committee page of the
updated Palm Beach County Bar Association
website at www.palmbeachbar.org.
Lawrence Gordon is the President of
Phoenix Mediation, LLC. He has been a
Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil
Mediator since 2010. He is a former multiterm
member of the Florida Unauthorized
Practice of Law Committee. He was the
first non-lawyer to serve on the Board of
Directors of the Palm Beach County Trial
Lawyers Association (now known as the
Palm Beach County Justice Association).
all from a prominent
m about mediating a
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