By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Symbolically, it was altogether fitting that its opening reception was held at the Detroit Institute of Arts, long a cultural linchpin in the city.
The DIA, of course, is home to some of the world’s great artworks and several years ago teetered on the edge of its very existence before the words “grand” and “bargain” converged.
Now, some 2-1/2 years removed from the Detroit bankruptcy case, the DIA is on firm financial footing and served as a resplendent setting for a “grand opening” of a decidedly legal kind on Tuesday evening, June 20.
The event – featuring four of the most prominent members of the Detroit legal community, including two of the principals in the city’s bankruptcy case – was the official launch of the JAMS Resolution Center in Detroit.
Founded in 1979, JAMS (short for Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services) bills itself as the “largest private provider of mediation and arbitration services worldwide,” with nearly “350 full-time neutrals, including retired judges and attorneys with proven track records.” Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., JAMS has offices in 25 cities across the U.S., including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
“Detroit was the natural choice for our next Resolution Center opening because of the highly respected judges and attorneys involved, the way in which the Michigan legal community embraces alternative dispute resolution, and the resurgence of the Detroit economy and revitalization of the city,” said Chris Poole, JAMS president and CEO. “We look forward to making an impact in this legal market with our one-of-a-kind panel.”
The proclamation by Poole already is bearing fruit, thanks to the efforts of the “four neutrals who have joined JAMS to launch the Detroit Resolution Center,” located overlooking the Detroit River at 150 West Jefferson, Suite 850. The four include: Mary Beth Kelly, retired justice, Michigan Supreme Court; Clarence “Rocky” Pozza, retired Miller Canfield attorney; Steven Rhodes, retired chief judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan; and Gerald Rosen, retired chief judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District.
Poole praised retired federal judges Rosen and Rhodes, “well-known for mediating and presiding over, respectively, the City of Detroit’s 2013 bankruptcy,” while also lauding former Justice Kelly, who is “highly respected for her leadership on family, child welfare and veterans’ issues.” Pozza, Poole noted, also has gained legal acclaim as a “trial lawyer with 40 years of litigation and settlement experience in complex trial and appellate work.”
Rosen, as he neared retirement from the federal bench, was instrumental in bringing the four together in what he termed a somewhat “serendipitous” happening that began with a phone call last fall from Brian Parmelee, vice president of Corporate Development and Panel Relations for JAMS.
“Brian called to say that Detroit was on its radar screen, and he wanted to gauge my interest in becoming involved in opening a Resolution Center here,” Rosen related during an interview last week. “Needless to say, it was music to my ears. I was familiar with JAMS and had used their mediators over the years, and I knew they were a very well run and respected organization.”
A 27-year veteran of the federal bench before retiring earlier this year, Rosen said he and Judge Rhodes had talked in the “broadest of terms” about forming their own mediation practice, but the interest by JAMS took their discussions to “another level.”
Rhodes, who earned universal praise for how he handled the Detroit bankruptcy case in 2013-14, also said that he had formed a “positive impression” of JAMS, principally through the involvement of a former judicial colleague, Randall Newsome, retired chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.
“The list of the neutrals they have attracted is truly impressive, and the quality of services they offer is exceptional in the ADR area,” Rhodes said during a group interview at the new office in Detroit last week. “Their experience and success in establishing offices made the opportunity particularly attractive.”
The opportunity also proved of interest to former state Supreme Court Justice Kelly, who most recently had served as an attorney with Bodman, focusing on business litigation, government relations, and public affairs.
“I had developed a special interest in serving as a mediator and arbitrator in commercial disputes, and that can become difficult in private practice when you are conflicted out of handling certain cases because of the client base,” explained Kelly, who earned her law degree from the University of Notre Dame and formerly served as chief judge of the 3rd Judicial Circuit in Wayne County. “When I was approached about joining JAMS, it made perfect sense to be part of a team like this, especially with those I hold in such high regard.”
Pozza, a University of Michigan Law School alum who also earned his bachelor’s degree from U-M, spent 42 years as a litigator at Miller Canfield before retiring last winter en route to joining the new Detroit office of JAMS.
“It’s exciting to be part of a new office like this, affording all of us an opportunity to build a mediation and arbitration practice,” said Pozza, who coincidentally helped lure Rosen to Miller Canfield when the future federal jurist graduated from law school in 1979. “We’re fortunate in a sense that we can all be entrepreneurs while also having the national support of an organization like JAMS.”
The JAMS Detroit Resolution Center “features seven conference rooms with views of the city, a custom glass sculpture created by local artist April Wagner of Epiphany Studios, and historic Detroit photographs throughout,” according to Joe Edmonds, practice development manager for JAMS.
“The office includes several features that attorneys and their clients have come to expect in JAMS Resolution Centers, such as powered tables, a large arbitration room with video-conferencing capability, Wi-Fi and wireless printing, an upgraded business center equipped with charging stations, USB power and work stations, and the signature JAMS Café and coffee bar,” said Edmonds.
In alphabetical terms, JAMS handles a wide range of cases, including: antitrust, bankruptcy, business, class action, commercial, construction, e-discovery, education, employment, engineering, entertainment and sports, environment, family, franchise, government, health care, insurance, intellectual property, landlord/tenant, malpractice, marital dissolution, mass tort, partnership, personal injury, probate, product liability, public policy, real estate, securities, toxic tort, and trusts and estates.
JAMS also offers “select seminars, workshops, and educational programs that aid organizations in resolving their own disputes,” while Rosen noted that the Resolution Center also is increasingly involved in “neutral analysis” work that allows clients the opportunity to “test drive a case” before an impartial panel.
The initial response to the opening of the Detroit Resolution Center has been “very positive,” Rosen indicated, noting that the nearby convenience of a “world class airport,” an increasingly lively restaurant and entertainment scene, a “walkable” downtown, and affordable hotel accommodations are helping make the city an attractive option for mediation and arbitration clients.
“In a sense, the opening of this office is a story of Detroit, of four people who have come together to build a business, investing in the city to help with its resurgence,” Rosen said. “We’re all proud to be part of a story like that.”
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