February 2018 ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Newsletter Features Ombuds

The Ombuds Committee has sponsored the latest edition of the ABA DRS Just Resolutions newsletter. An introduction by Ombuds Committee Chair provides this introduction, "This issue of Just Resolutions also highlights our Committee’s progress in ensuring that ombuds programs have the ability to operate in accordance with appropriate standards."

The articles include:

• Is It Time for a Model Organizational Ombuds Act?, by Roy Baroff and Jon Lee
  Let’s start from the beginning—what is an organizational ombuds? The simple answer is to think about what many people do when they have a concern, issue, or conflict. They usually talk it over with someone—the adage “two heads are better than one” comes to mind! An ombuds can be that second person with whom to talk something over, be a sounding board, help develop options, and help navigate the situation through four unique features that set it apart from any other role in an organization.
• An Ombuds Resolution for the 21st Century: Resolution 103 Passes Without Opposition, by Natalie Fleury
  On August 24, 2017, the most recent American Bar Association (ABA) Ombuds Resolution, Resolution 103, passed the ABA House of Delegates with the support of several other sections and without opposition.
• To Effectively Address Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, We Need to Lower the Cost of Speaking Up., by Lauren Marx and Carole Houk
  In the wake of several high profile news reports and a wave of allegations that highlighted widespread sexual harassment and retaliation in the workplace, the pressure is mounting to transform the workplace into an environment that is safe and respectful for all employees. But how?
• Fairness and the Ecology of Conflict, by Shirley R Nakata
  In my first year as an ombudsperson, it was with great interest that I observed a difference between ombuds practice in Canada and the U.S. While attending my first U.S. ombuds conference, I was surprised by how little I heard about the concept of “fairness” in the discourse and in the central function of conflict management and resolution in ombuds work.

(ABA Just Resolutions.)

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