Listen in on a conversation between experts

Day two of a fascinating 3 day live discussion has just begun over at NewTalk, a new web space for reserved for discussions between invited experts in a given field.

What is the role of the courts in making social policy? is moderated by Gillian Hadfield of USC and includes familiar names like Ken Feinberg of The Feinberg Group and many others.

You may remember Hadfield and Feinberg from my post When families lose a loved one, do they want the cash or the courthouse?

And surprisingly there is a strong ADR thread woven into the discussion with Hadfield leading off with her observation that because of the...

"increasing pressure to divert matters out of court with alternative dispute resolution and settlements; I’ve wondered whether this idealized reduced role for courts also means a reduced role for citizen participation in generating the legal standards by which we live, standards that are in large part developed through the concrete ‘activist’ process of adjudicating actual ‘cases and controversies’ and not just legislating" [read more]