Dallas Bar Association
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July 2019 Volume 44 Number 7
Focus
Focus | ADR/Collaborative Law
ADR/Collaborative Law
Leon Carter Honored as 2019 Internal ADR Processes for Trial Lawyer of the Year Organizational Disputes BY ANDREW M. JONES
E. Leon Carter has been named the Dallas Bar Association’s 2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year. The award is fitting for Carter, who is well known in Dallas both for his effective work in the courtroom and his generous support of the community and the legal profession. Carter has been a fixture of the Dallas trial bar for some three decades. After cutting his teeth in law as an assistant attorney general, and later an assistant district attorney, Carter joined Jackson Walker, where he rose to partner in E. Leon Carter the litigation section. He ultimately founded his own firm, merged with another, and later founded his current firm, now known as Carter Arnett. He has tried more than 100 jury cases at the state and federal level. He handles plaintiff and defense matters in exceptionally diverse practice areas ranging from commercial litigation to product liability, to First Amendment, antitrust and employment. There are few areas of litigation that he has not handled. Carter’s client base has run the gamut to a degree far beyond that of most attorneys, from AT&T, to Exxon Mobil, to the City of Dallas, to Parkland Hospital. Carter is a member of the International Society of Barristers, the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the Litigation Counsel of America. He has served as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Dedman School of Law and The University of Texas at Arlington. Among many other honors, Carter has been named a Thomson Reuters Texas Super Lawyer, included in Levine Leichtman Capital Partners’ Best Lawyers in America, and named as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America. Leon and his wife Debra have been consistent and extraordinarily generous supporters of the Dallas community. The Carters are long-time supporters of the DVAP Equal Access
to Justice Campaign, with donations well into the six figures. Carter calls his family’s support of the EAJ Campaign to be part of a spiritual mandate to help the less fortunate. Carter is also a Life Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation. His father passed away when Leon was just three years old. One of five children, he was raised in the East Texas town of Carthage, a town of 6,000 people, where he proudly credits his mother and extended family for helping to raise him and shape him into a good student under modest circumstances. After high school, Carter went on to graduate from East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, where he played basketball and earned a degree in history and pre-law. After a brief high school teaching career, he commenced studies at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, where he graduated in 1986. Carter’s community service also includes volunteering on the boards of Vickery Meadow Learning Center, Camp John Marc, the Martin Luther King Center, the Volunteer Center of Dallas, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Carter has been recognized for his community service in a number of ways, including being honored as recipient of the DBA’s 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award. Carter has also served the Dallas Bar Association in numerous capacities, including time as DBA Director and serving on committees pertaining to the judiciary and unauthorized practice of law, to name a few. His service extends to the state level as well, through his service with the Litigation Council of the State Bar of Texas, and as a State Bar director for District 6. Congratulations to Leon Carter, this year’s Dallas Bar Association Trial Lawyer of the Year. HN Andrew M. Jones is co-chair of the Publications Committee and serves as Senior Director, Legal Counsel to Epsilon Data Management Services, LLP. He can be reached at andrew.jones@epsilon.com.
BY SANDY LAURO
“Grievances cannot be redressed unless they are known, and they cannot be known but through complaints and petitions . . .” – Benjamin Franklin When people work together, conflict is inevitable. Conflict is viewed negatively, but conflict can ultimately be a positive force if it is managed well, as it can help identify and resolve internal conflict that is causing harm to the organization and its people. While many executives and lawyers think of external mediators or arbitrators as useful in dispute resolution, internal processes can be even more effective as they can be utilized earlier on in the conflict and may also help the organization identify and find solutions to problems before litigation becomes necessary. This article will provide an overview of several internal dispute resolution processes that both for-profit and non-profit organizations may consider in addressing internal conflicts and disputes.
Internal Investigations
An internal investigation is a process whereby an internal employee (e.g., an HR professional) or an external party (e.g., a lawyer or consultant) impartially investigates certain employee concerns, such as concerns of harassment, discrimination or other alleged violations of policy and/or law. If a policy or legal violation is found, the company can take corrective actions such as discipline, training, etc. However, even if the investigator concludes that no policy or law violation is substantiated, the fact that a concern was raised usually indicates that there are perceptions of unfairness, other personnel conflicts or leadership styles that may be causing the concerns. This information can be used to create solutions designed to mitigate against future conflicts or concerns.
Ombuds Programs
Generally, an ombuds person is a designated internal or external member of the organization whose primary purpose is to look into internal complaints about alleged acts or omissions of organizational actors and larger systemic problems. The ombuds person’s role is to listen, offer options to the complainant as to how to process or resolve the concern, or design paths to facilitate resolutions. Additionally, an ombuds person can also be used to gather data and investigate individual concerns or larger systemic issues. The concept of an ombuds person is common in many cultures and religions where designated elders help resolve disputes within the community. Universities and other organizations, such as
Inside 6 Expanding the Collaborative Process Beyond Family Law 14 Limiting Discovery Before Arbitration 18 Making Effective Demands and Offers at Mediation 20 Bar None XXXIV: Lawquaman
the United Nations, have successfully utilized identified ombuds persons to assist their employees with the informal resolution of concerns or conflict.
Internal Grievance Procedures/ Peer Review Panels
An internal grievance process is an internal organized and directed process for employees to submit concerns and complaints for internal determination. Often, these grievance processes include a peer review panel or group of employees who are trained in the process of hearing their peers’ concerns and making decisions relating to the concerns. For example, the panel may have authority to hear employee disputes relating to compensation or performance reviews and to render final decisions that affirm, reverse or modify certain types of management decisions. Employees may trust the process given that they are submitting their dispute to peers who may better understand their concerns as well as the company’s culture, policies and operations.
Facilitation
Individuals with training in conflict resolution often act as external facilitators to help an organization and its employees deal with difficult issues causing conflict within a group and to help the internal stakeholders find a shared path to resolution of problems or conflict. While each facilitation program or session is unique, generally it entails the use of an external conflict resolution facilitator. The facilitator gathers information about the problem or conflict from the key players and then works with all the key players in one or more group sessions to talk through the issues, identify the problems and find shared (and often mutually agreed upon) solutions as a group. Because the employees involved in the conflict are also involved in sharing their concerns and finding the solutions forward, the facilitative process can help build trust and commitment to the solution forward. As noted above, there are many different internal processes that organizations can use to effectively manage and resolve conflict. Finding the right process depends on the organization’s unique culture and needs, leadership commitment and organizational resources. In the end, dispute resolution is not an easy task for any organization, but it is often critical for running an effective organization with a workforce that is engaged and committed. HN Sandy Lauro is an attorney at Dede Church & Associates, LLC.. She can be reached at slauro@dedechurch.com.
The 2019 DBA Membership Directory is now available! Check out the directory and legal resource guide used by Dallas attorneys! To request a copy of the new directory, contact pictorial@dallasbar.org.