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TAPM Newsletter
August 2023
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Note from the Board
We hope that you are all having a wonderful summer. For those of you who are teachers, students, or have school-age children, you have all our best wishes for a great new school year. A lot has been going on here at TAPM, with guest speakers, a website overhaul, and a new board roster. We are continuing to build our mentorship program and have some exciting upcoming events over the next few months. We look forward to involving you in the launch of the new website, coming soon, and, as always, we invite you to share your ideas, insights, and upcoming events with us.
Best wishes,
The TAPM Board
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TAPM Speaker Series: Carol Bloom - The Transformative Approach to Working with “FACE” Concerns | |
 |  | Thank you all who attended our August Speaker Series event on Monday, August 7th. Our presenter was Carol Bloom, and she spoke about The Transformative Approach to Working with FACE Concerns. She shared insights about the role of “saving face” in mediation and how mediators can become more attuned to these types of concerns. Attendees provided highly positive feedback after the event. Although Carol spoke from her experience as a transformative mediator, mediators from all branches of the field can benefit from these tools. Being able to recognize and respond to these moments of defensiveness and vulnerability is important for all of us. These moments, which can sometimes be deeply uncomfortable, are hidden opportunities to deepen understanding and connection. If you were unable to attend this presentation and would like to view the recording, please contact Jen from our Admin Team at jen.comiskey@2mediate.org. Additionally, you will be able to access a recording of this event, as well as many others, when our new website launches.
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TAPM Website Update
Progress on our new website continues! Once it is ready to launch we will close down the Wild Apricot address and move to our new domain - TNMediators.org. We are organizing available resources and video recordings in the members-only portal, and continuing to fine-tune the “find a mediator” function. Our goal is for our new website to offer more resources for our members while making it easier for members of the public to connect with your mediation practice as well. When the move happens, everyone will need to update their profiles. We also encourage you to add a picture to your new profile at that time!
What else would you find helpful on the TAPM website? We welcome your input– please send any suggestions to Kim Best at kim@bestconflictsolutions.com. We will keep you informed of progress as the new website comes together.
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TAPM Skill-Building Workshop: Breaking Impasse
September 11, 2023 (11am-12:30pmCT,
12pm-1:30pmET, online via Zoom)
11am-12:30pm Central, 12pm – 1:30pm Eastern. TAPM members have often expressed interest in events where they can actively build their skills and learn from each other, and the TAPM Board has heard you. Going forward, we intend to alternate our Speaker Series events with these Skill-Building Workshops so we can offer regular opportunities for practice, roleplay, coaching, demonstrations, mentorship, and fellowship.
We invite all members to attend our first in a series of interactive skills development workshops. The topic for September will be Strategies For Breaking Impasse. This will be an interactive event with cameras on. After a brief initial discussion, we will break into small groups (in Zoom breakout rooms) to work through short scenarios and roleplays.
If you can only attend for the first hour, that is fine – we will wrap up the exercises at the one-hour mark. If you can stay for the final 30 minutes, we would like to spotlight members who have practical information on the topic of Breaking Impasse to share with each other. If you can volunteer to share insights, experiences, or suggestions, please email jen.comiskey@2mediate.org beforehand so that we can plan for time. We will seek CME and CLE credit for this event. Please sign up at the following link:
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TAPM Speaker Series Presents: Dan Mortimer - Mediation Marketing for 2023 and Beyond
October 2, 2023 (11am-1pm CT, 12pm-2pm ET, online via Zoom)
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 | | First, at 11amCT/12pmET: Our presenter is Dan Mortimer, a specialist in relationship-focused business development, and he will discuss the factors that drive case generation. He will be presenting on strategies and tools for building your client base as part of TAPM's annual Marketing and Practice-Building Event. He will share principles from Performance Laws' bespoke "Cultivation System" on forming new relationships with clients and referral parties, nurturing these connections, maintaining visibility with your existing contacts, and ensuring the implementation of your business development strategies. These are all current, proven, effective and relevant techniques mediators use to establish new practices and expand current ones. Additionally, Dan will present practical examples, such as the success story of a client who boosted their mediation/arbitration practice's annual revenue from $300,000 to over $700,000. This event has been approved for 1 hour general CLE and 1 hour general CME.
Then, from 12pmCT/1pmET: TAPM members are welcome to stay online for our monthly member meeting. We will continue our process of introduction and networking. Your input, vision, and talents are greatly valued.
This event is free to all TAPM members. Register at the following link:
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Additional Information About The Speaker: Dan Mortimer is the founder of Performance Laws, a boutique firm specializing in helping professionals and companies with relationship-focused business development. Performance Laws work with over 200 clients globally within a wide range of areas – dispute resolution, consulting, expert witness services, alternative legal services, litigation support, etc. Dan spent over twenty years developing the Cultivation System, which has helped hundreds of dispute resolution professionals across the world since 2017. For more information about Dan, check out the following links: | |
Other Upcoming Events in Tennessee | | |
Dr. Jeff Thompson: Sponsors Needed For Hostage Negotiation Seminar at Lipscomb | |
Many of you will remember Dr. Jeff Thompson’s dynamic presentation at the TAPM Annual Seminar this past April. Dr. Thompson is a conflict resolution specialist and author with more than 20 years of experience with the NYPD. He was the agency's first-ever Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator, and he has experience in suicide prevention. He has also been a detective, hostage negotiator, instructor, and crisis communication specialist. He is also an experienced trainer in conflict resolution, and he is looking for sponsors for an October event that he is bringing to Tennessee: a state-wide hostage negotiation seminar. This event will be held at Lipscomb University.
Anyone who is interested in sponsorship for this event can contact Dr. Thompson at jt2768@cumc.columbia.edu or Kim Best at kim@bestconflictsolutions.com.
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APFM Town Hall 2023
The Academy of Professional Family Mediators (APFM) is having their online Town Hall 2023 event on August 31 at 11amCT/12pmET. Their topic is: Mediator Mindset: The Inside Job of the Mediator. Registration is free. Our own mindset and attitude is critical to how we help others resolve conflict. Self-awareness is a work in progress for all of us, and this is a great opportunity to learn from others across the country.
More information about the APFM Town Hall 2023 event can be found on their website, along with the registration page:
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NCRC: Mediation Matters Breakfast Fundraiser
On September 7th, Nashville Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) will host its annual Mediation Matters breakfast at Hillwood Country Club at 7am. The breakfast was created to recognize the heroes in our community who work tirelessly to support the important work of community mediation. It also serves as NCRC’s premier fundraising event. If you are interested in attending or sponsoring the event, please reach out to Shannon Wagner at shannon@nashvilleconflict.org.
For more info about this event, click this button:
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Coalition to Launch Program to Mediate Eviction Cases in Chattanooga, CBA Kickoff Event is 9:00am on August 22nd
By: Judge Alexander K. McVeagh, Hamilton County General Sessions Court; Alexa LeBoeuf, Director of Hamilton County Department of Economic & Community Development; and Marc Harwell, Harwell & Hurst PLLC, TAPM Board of Directors, TN Supreme Court ADR Commission
In 2020, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga (“CFGC”) provided initial seed funding to launch the Eviction Prevention Initiative with partners Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, Southern Adventist University School of Social Work, and attorney Emily O’Donnell. Initially a pandemic response effort, the initiative worked to prevent evictions and increase stability through legal representation, case management, and access to coordinated funding. In 2021, the City of Chattanooga awarded ARPA funding to expand the pilot, and additional partners included Habitat for Humanity and the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition. The initiative continues to work alongside Hamilton County General Sessions Court (the “Court”) detainer/eviction dockets to serve tenants facing eviction.
Judges and initiative partners witnessed landlords and tenants begin to proactively seek financial relief and case management support before court cases were adjudicated. Realizing the opportunity to provide additional court-based assistance to tenants and landlords, the Court received a competitive grant from the National Center for State Courts to join an inaugural cohort of nine courts from across the country to launch an Eviction Diversion Initiative (“EDI”).
EDI seeks to divert cases from the docket by assisting landlords and tenants, while also expanding stakeholder collaboration, increasing data analysis, and helping leaders develop policy solutions to local housing issues. EDI includes a Housing Stability Facilitator who works for the City of Chattanooga under the direction of the Court and its judges. In addition to aiding in rent relief efforts, EDI staff researched eviction diversion models across the state and country to identify a sustainable approach that met the needs of landlords and tenants. Chattanooga is currently the largest city in Tennessee without a Community Mediation Center (CMC), but through conversations with mediation leaders and site visits to CMCs across the state, EDI identified the opportunity to learn from and join existing statewide efforts to use mediation in Chattanooga to resolve housing disputes.
In partnership with the Chattanooga Bar Association (“CBA”) and the Court, EDI is launching a housing mediation pilot to facilitate free and voluntary mediation for landlords and tenants prior to an eviction hearing. Other goals include:
- Supporting resolutions to landlord-tenant disagreements that serve both parties;
- Decreasing the number of eviction cases that are adjudicated through trial;
- Working directly with landlords to identify financial relief opportunities and avoid court costs;
- Identifying tenants who need case management to improve long-term housing stability; and
- Incorporating education to increase both parties’ understanding and comfort with housing laws and the legal process.
To kick-off this pilot program, the CBA is sponsoring a seminar for any attorney or Rule 31 mediator (attorneys and non-attorneys) on August 22nd at 9:00 AM at the Hamilton County Courthouse at 625 Georgia Avenue in downtown Chattanooga. The seminar is $50 for any attorney seeking 3 hours of (general) continuing legal education (CLE) credit, or free for anyone simply seeking to learn about the pilot program. Speakers and trainers will include Chattanooga attorney Paul Hatcher, Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Alex McVeagh, Housing Stability Facilitator Yashika Ward, and mediators Jackie Kittrell and Dawn Forshay from Knoxville’s Community Mediation Center. Anyone interested should contact Lynda Hood at Lhood@ChattanoogaBar.org.
Press this button to learn more:
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If you haven't already found us online, check out our social media pages. We would love to hear from you about your mediation practice or mediation opportunities including training, connections and presentations. Check back regularly for updates on upcoming events! | |
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Did you know?
American Bar Association (ABA) ADR Committee meetings and continuing education opportunities are available to you through your TAPM membership at a reduced rate. For each event, TAPM members receive a 50% discount for specific programs. A program code will be provided for registration and the code will be different for each event. For the October event, the code is CEDR2022. Registration is free for ABA DR members, but cooperating entities receive the 50% discount rate of $25.00 (the ABA rate).
Visit our website to renew membership, or join and pay your TAPM dues online.
$100.00 for one year: Professional Member
$50.00 for one year: Nonprofit Mediator/Student Member
Dues are renewable one year from your last renewal.
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News to share? Upcoming Events that would be of interest to TAPM mediators? Job openings you’d like to promote? Email submissions for upcoming TAPM newsletters to jen.comiskey@2mediate.org
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Many thanks to TAPM’s Sponsor, ADR Notable: The only comprehensive mediation software platform designed especially for dispute resolution professionals. | | | | | | |
