Ninth Circuit Honors Local Attorney for ADR Work

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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Ninth Circuit Honors Local Attorney for ADR Work

By a MetNews Staff Writer

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday announced Los Angeles attorney Dawn M. Osborne-Adams, a staff lawyer at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, is this year’s recipient of the Robert F. Peckham Award for Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

The award, created by the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council in 2001 to recognize non-judicial court employees for innovation and achievement in court-based ADR programs, is named for Chief Judge Robert Peckham of the Northern District of California, now-deceased, who aided in establishing a court-based ADR program.

Senior Circuit Judge Dorothy W. Nelson, chair of the Ninth Circuit ADR Committee, will present the award on July 22 during a morning program for the bench and bar during the 2009 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference at the Hyatt Regency Monterey.

Osborne-Adams has served as manager of ADR programs for the Central District since 2006, where she has aided in standardizing the system used to assign settlement attorneys to cases, implementing a reimbursement policy for their out-of-pocket expenses, developing a statistical database for ADR cases, coordinating ADR programs with other courts, and promoting better understanding of ADR in the legal community and general public, Ninth Circuit officials said.

Nelson is also scheduled to present the Stanford Law School Gould Center for Conflict Resolution Programs with the Ninth Circuit ADR Education Award, which recognizes institutions that have advanced ADR scholarship and research.

Janet Martinez, director of the center, is slated to receive the award on behalf of the group.

In addition, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Mary M. Schroeder is to present Seattle attorney Harry H. Schneider Jr. with the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award, which recognizes a senior practicing lawyer or judge whose life and practice display “sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession.”

Indian Wells attorney Thomas J. McDermott Jr. is to receive the John P. Frank Award, which recognizes an outstanding lawyer practicing in the federal courts of the western United States.