ABOUT THE INN
The first and so far only American Inn of Court established for Alternate Dispute Resolution was formed in 1998 in New Jersey. The American Inns of Court Foundation was issued Charter Number 319 sanctioning the organization as an integral part of their national organization. The Foundation maintains a charitable and educational status as a 501C(3) recognized organization.
The Alternate Dispute Resolution Inn was named for Justice Marie L. Garibaldi who was a noted practitioner and the first woman Supreme Court Justice in New Jersey, who served on the Court from 1982 to 2000. During her tenure on the Court, Justice Garibaldi authored in excess of 225 Opinions which were widely regarded as thoughtful and concise.
Upon her retirement, the Court described Justice Garibaldi’s interest in Alternate Dispute Resolution as follows:
In addition to her work on the bench, Justice Garibaldi has been, and continues to be, an indefatigable champion of complementary dispute resolution. Under her stewardship as the long-time chair of the Supreme Court Committee on Complementary Dispute Resolution, the New Jersey Judiciary has developed a variety of ways to tailor the method of delivering justice to the needs of a particular case.
The Garibaldi Inn, consistent with the Foundation’s mission, works to foster excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills. Breaking tradition with the hierarchy of a formal Inn, the Garibaldi Inn has eliminated the distinction between Masters, Barristers and Pupils, and its members comprise lawyers who are state and federal judges, retired judges, law professors, legal practitioners and ADR professionals, both lawyers and mediators.
Although not following the traditional legal model of apprenticeship maintained for centuries by the Inns of Court in London, we have, on a monthly basis, from September through May each year adopted the best of the social and professional attributes to mentor each other and novitiates in the practice of the various modes of dispute resolution other than litigation.
The Garibaldi Inn accomplishes its task by meeting on the second Thursday of each month at Dolce, the former AT&T Learning Center, at 6:00 P.M. for cocktails, followed by a sumptuous buffet and interactive program. Currently the program is split between a twenty-five minute ethics presentation and a fifty to seventy-five minute mediation or arbitration presentation. We have consistently invited national experts to address the group as well as drawing on our home grown talent within the membership to present topics of interest in ADR. Recent programs have included: Professor Dwight Golann from Suffolk University; James McGuire from JAMS, Boston; Professor Elayne E. Greenberg, St. John’s University Law School; Eric Tuchmann, General Counsel of the American Arbitration Association; Professor Jonathan M. Hyman, Rutgers School of Law
The Inn has applied for CLE credit, which is presently pending.
Additionally, the Inn has been active with members participating on behalf of both the Complementary Dispute Supreme Court Committee and Supreme Court Arbitration Advisory Committee regarding court-annexed mediation, settlement and arbitration programs. Inn members produce, staff and participate in basic and advanced courses in mediation and advanced arbitration programs offered to members of the Bar and public. Besides publications produced for those courses, Inn members are also working on subject matter texts regarding ADR issues in New Jersey.
The Garibaldi Inn invites those interested in promoting both advocacy and neutral practice in the ADR field to apply for membership and participate in our activities.