American Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section

The American Bar Association (ABA) is the primary professional association for lawyers in the United States. Its members include practicing and nonpracticing lawyers, judges, court administrators, law teachers, and public attorneys (e.g., public defenders and government attorneys). It not only represents the interests of its members, it also addresses many issues of public concern: child abuse, governmental corruption, juvenile crime, pollution, and costly and ineffective justice, among others.

In 1993, the ABA created a Dispute Resolution Section. The purposes of this section are to study and implement improved methods of dispute resolution, including court-annexed and court-directed dispute resolution processes and other private and community-based alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes. It also provides an ADR clearinghouse, technical assistance, and public and professional education programs. The section publishes the Dispute Resolution Magazine three times a year for its members and collaborates on the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, which also comes out three times a year—twice with articles on dispute resolution topics, and once with a bibliography of recent publications in the field.