2023 AAML Arbitration Training Institute

Rochelle B. (“Shelly”) Grossman and Carolyn Zack led the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) 2023 Arbitration Training Institute in Chicago on June 1 and 2, 2023. The Institute planners were Academy Fellows Amy J. Amundsen (Tennessee) and Jennifer Bingham (Massachusetts), co-chairs of the AAML Arbitration Committee, pictured below with Shelly and Carolyn. Judge Robert Childers, a Circuit Court judge, mediator, and AAA-trained arbitrator, served as a guest lecturer and offered guidance on practical, ethical, and jurisdictional issues. PBA Family Law Section member Maris J. Weiner attended and made valuable contributions to the program. The two day in-person training provided 13 hours of CLE credits, including one hour of ethics, and participants received a certificate of training issued by the AAML. Participants also received feedback from their advisors, Academy Fellows with experience as arbitrators, on their draft agreements to arbitrate, interim directives, and arbitration awards. The attendees included more than 30 attorneys from across the country, Fellows and non-Fellows, who engaged in a lively and thoughtful discussion about the benefits of family law arbitration, shared information about their local family law practice and experience, and offered their perspectives on best practices for family law arbitrators. All participants, including Shelly and Carolyn, came away from the program feeling better prepared to tackle complicated arbitration-related issues. An overwhelming theme of the Institute is the need for a more uniform approach to family law arbitration and the adoption of the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act (UFLAA) throughout the country. Another outcome of the training institute is the demand for more certified arbitrators trained by the AAML, which is the only professional organization training family law arbitrators. If you are interested in attending the AAML Arbitration Training Institute next year, please reach out to Shelly at shelly@pottsshoemaker.com or Carolyn at czack@momjiananderer.com.