2026 Maryland Mediators Convention

What were you taught about safety when you were trained in your ADR practice? Sit near the door? Don’t mediate cases with restraining orders? Anything?
Fortunately, solid guidance is available now. The Association for Conflict Resolution Task Force on Safety has developed safety guidance for ADR practitioners. In this session, Task Force members will share practical advice to keep you and those you serve safer during ADR processes. Along with specific guidance for creating a physical site safety plan, they will discuss the inherent biases, challenges, gaps, and common misunderstandings to consider when designing and implementing your plan.

Learning Objectives:

• To build their awareness of physical site safety best practices.
• To work with participants to identify components of their own physical safety plan.
• To foster awareness of how bias can impact these components and how to be more bias-resistant in their planning and implementation.

This session will cover civil non-domestic mediation issues such as Conflict of Interest, Legal Counsel Involvement, Power Imbalances, Power of Apology, Special Issues with Motor Torts.
Mediators will be challenged to think critically about common and complex issues in civil non-domestic mediation, beyond settlement numbers.