We’re here on super official business today, you guys. Srs bzns, to be precise. I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I somehow became the Secretary and Treasurer of the Alternative Dispute Resolution organization at John Marshall.
I literally just kind of fell into it. I wanted to go to lunch with my friend Kathleen one day, but she had a little meeting at noon so I said I’d tag along (I’d forgotten my phone so she couldn’t text me when she was done, and it was just easier). I showed up with her and it turned out that it was Election Day for the ADR organization. Six people showed up (out of a much larger group, no worries), and four of us were elected officers. I became Secretary-Treasurer just because I didn’t mind doing both jobs and merging the two positions. If I’m keeping all the minutes and taking charge of the bookkeeping, there’s no reason I can’t manage to money in there as well.
For those of you not familiar with the term/subject, ADR basically focuses on dispute resolution processes and techniques, used when arbitrating between conflicting parties before a lawsuit. Kind of a ‘can’t we all just be friends’ sort of deal.
(Seriously, watch it. Even if you hate cartoons. Just do it.)
Anyway, ADR has gained increasing popularity in the legal field, which isn’t surprising: the courts love it when parties can settle without bringing suit because they can reach their own agreement on their own terms, often pretty speedily and cheaply (arguable, but whatever, we’ll let it slide for now), and they don’t clog up the dockets. Win-win-win. Some courts actually require parties appearing before them to utilize ADR of some type (usually mediation) before they can try their case; in fact, it’s not uncommon for even employers to have employees sign paperwork (kosher under the Federal Arbitration Act) stating that they waive their right to sue the employer, and have all disputes brought in arbitration.
In an interesting note that relates to this, our ADR organization at John Marshall is actually planning to get the named changed from Alternative Dispute Resolution to simply Dispute Resolution. The ‘alternative’ part just seems unnecessary. One of our members remarked that he told his friend he was an ADR officer and the non-law-student friend, upon hearing the ‘alternative’ part, remarked, “I don’t know, Eric, it seems kinda hokey.” Hahaha. Anyway, we feel that dropping the first word would add to the legitimacy of the whole thing.
So, like I said, I’ll be the Secretary and Treasurer, and I’m glad I fell into this thing, I really am. First off, it’ll look good on my resume, and I’ll learn a lot and all that. But most importantly, it fits right in with what I want to do after law school.
Even though I do plan to take the Bar and get licensed, I’m most likely not going to go into practice. I love Labor Law more than anything, you guys, and I’m taking Employment Law as a 3L, and I’m sure I’ll love that, too. I find it all wildly interesting and exciting. It’s just the most exciting kind of law you can practice, in my opinion. There’s so much on the line! Money! Livelihoods! Free speech! Freedom of assembly! And the NLRA is a thing of beauty. It really, really is. If the NLRA was a teddy bear, I’d cuddle up with it every night, and I hate sleeping with stuffed animals. I didn’t even do that as a kid.
(My love of Labor Law has a lot to do with the fact that my Labor Law professor was Gerald Berendt, who was the chairman of the NLRB here in Chicago for most of the 1970s. When Papa Hoomster was in the hospital, the guy he shared his room with turned out to be a JMLS grad who had been in practice for 15 years, and when we started talking about Labor Law and I mentioned Berendt, he was like, “…that guy’s ego wouldn’t fit through this door.” I laughed, even though I don’t fully agree, but whatever. Berendt likes to pat himself on the back, but he’s just so awesome and endearing that no one cares. We’re all just too in love with him.)
Anyway, I love Labor Law and Employment Law, from what limited reading I’ve done on it without taking the class yet. So when I graduate, I plan to work in Human Resources for a mid-size or large corporation. I’d be handling most of the same stuff that employment and labor attorneys generally handle, and I wouldn’t have to go to court, which I don’t really want to do. I think. This is just kind of my tentative plan; if I can score a job as a legit labor attorney YOU CAN BET YOUR BUTT I’LL TAKE IT. I’ll be the best labor attorney you ever saw! It’d be awesome! GOD I LOVE LABOR LAW YEAH.
Anyway, on top of that, I’d just have to keep track of new legislation relating to employment issues, like the legislation recently passed that allows employees to deduct something like $250/mo in travel/commuting expenses whereas under previous legislation they could only deduct $150. Things like that, which I’m more than happy with.
And a big part of HR is talking to employees and looking into disputes and conflicts and keeping track of all that stuff. And ADR would fit in with that perfectly. I’d have a great additional skill set to bolster my credentials in that respect, or at least, I hope so.
So that’s kinda-sorta the plan right now, you guys. And that’s why I’m glad to be an officer of the Alternative Dispute Resolution organization at John Marshall.
The only thing I’m not glad about is having to write this loan proposal so we can get monies from the school. :( Bleh.
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