The Ombuds Blog: ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Annual Membership Meeting

June 24, 2026

ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Annual Membership Meeting

The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution will hold its Annual Membership Meeting on Friday, July 31, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Outgoing Section Chair Liz Hill will reflect on the Section's work over the past year and share a few thoughts as leadership transitions to a new team for the coming year. As the Section partners with IOA to implement a Model Ombuds Act, this promises to be an exciting year.

The meeting is open, but voting is limited to current members of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. Members attending the meeting will vote on the proposed leadership slate, including Officers, Section Council, and Section Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. The slate includes several familiar faces from the Ombuds community, including former Ombuds Liz Hill, who is running for Section Delegate, and Villanova Faculty Ombuds Meg Willoughby, who is running for Section Council. (Nominating Committee Report; Event Registration.)

4 comments:

Liz Hill6/24/2026 8:43 AM
Thanks, Tom! And to clarify, the Organizational Ombuds Practices Act (aka Model Act) is complete, and the ABA House of Delegates adopted it as policy in February 2026. In the year ahead, the IOA/ABA DR Joint Taskforce will develop a proposed advocacy and lobbying strategy related to state-level adoption efforts, and folks will begin introducing it to state legislatures for enactment.
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Caroline Adams6/25/2026 8:51 AM
Just a reminder, you don't have to be a lawyer to join the ABA and have your voice heard to support ombuds and ombuds work!
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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany/Austria -- Ombudspersonen and Ombudsleute

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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