ACR and the Uniform Mediation Act (UMA)

ACR's Conditional Approval

The Association for Conflict Resolution conditionally approved the Uniform Mediation Act (UMA) during the ACR Board of Directors April 20-21, 2002 meeting. The UMA was drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), in collaboration with the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and with the active involvement of ACR Official Observers Gregory Firestone and Dennis Sharp, in 2001.

Status of the Uniform Mediation Act

The final Act, which was approved and recommended for enactment in all U.S. states by NCCUSL in 2001, may be viewed on the NCCUSL web site. The UMA has been introduced in a number of states, and has been enacted in ten states:

·         District of Columbia as B16-0145

·         Illinois as HB 2146

·         Iowa as SB 323

·         Nebraska as LB 255

·         New Jersey as A841

·         Ohio as HB 303

·         South Dakota

·         Utah as SB 61

·         Vermont  as H. 33

·         Washington as SB 5173

Text updated: 07/30/08

ACR's Role in the Drafting of the Uniform Mediation Act

• ACR's UMA Principles have guided ACR's involvement in the UMA drafting process.

• An Analysis of Principled Advocacy in the Development of the Uniform Mediation Act
  This article, written by Gregory Firestone, examines the advocacy role professional conflict resolution associations have played in the drafting of the Uniform Mediation Act.

• Uniform Mediation Act: Are We There Yet?
  This article, by Gregory Firestone and Dennis Sharp, ACR's Official Observers to the NCCUSL UMA Drafting Committee, highlights revisions made to the UMA, and outlines how the Drafts have met or fallen short of ACR expectations.

ACR Official Responses to Drafts of the UMA

• ACR Response to UMA Draft -- Feb. 4, 2002
  ACR's letter to the NCCUSL and ABA Drafting Committees confirming that ACR neither endorses or opposes the Uniform Mediation Act (UMA), because substantive changes were made to the UMA after August 13, 2001 when ACR had communicated its support.

• ACR Response to UMA draft--July 24, 2001
  ACR's response to the "Draft for Approval" Uniform Mediation Act, in the form of a letter from then-President of ACR Arnold Shienvold to the NCCUSL and ABA UMA Drafting Committees.

• ACR Draft Revision of the UMA--March 20, 2001 (pdf file)
  The February 20, 2001 draft of the UMA with proposed revisions approved by the ACR Board's Executive Committee on March 20, 2001. ACR's proposed revisions were submitted to the NCCUSL and ABA UMA Drafting Committees with a letter from then-President of ACR, Arnold Shienvold.