ANNAPOLIS (February 7, 2003) - Chief Judge Robert M. Bell has been chosen to receive the D'Alemberte/Raven award from the American Bar Association (ABA) Dispute Resolution Section.

The award recognizes outstanding service in the field of conflict resolution.  Recent recipients include Janet Reno, former United States Attorney General, and Harvard Professor Roger Fisher, co-author of Getting to Yes.  Bell, who is Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, is the first state court judge ever to receive this award.

The ABA is honoring him for creating and leading the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO), which has been recognized as a leader in advancing the appropriate use of mediation and other non-adversarial forms of conflict resolution in the court system and in the wider community.
The award will be presented at the Dispute Resolution Section's Spring conference in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, March 21, 2003.  It is named for former ABA presidents Talbot S. D'Alemberte and Robert D. Raven.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Maryland was given a jump-start in 1998, when Bell created a commission of 40 high-level representatives from the court system, the executive and legislative branches of government, education, the mediation community, and business and community leaders.

The commission, predecessor to MACRO, developed an action plan – “Join the Resolution” – to advance conflict resolution in courts, schools, neighborhoods, government agencies, criminal and juvenile justice programs and the business community.  MACRO has helped Maryland's courts increase and improve the dispute resolution options they offer, and has supported efforts to help prevent disputes from escalating and resolve conflicts before court intervention becomes necessary.
 
MACRO has been recognized as a model state office of dispute resolution by a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which funds MACRO's assistance to other states that want to emulate Maryland’s program.  MACRO has also been featured as a model program at events sponsored by the American Arbitration Association, the Council of State Governments and the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, which is the leading national organization promoting ADR in the business community.

For a copy of "Join the Resolution," or for further information about mediation or MACRO, please contact Rachel Wohl, MACRO's Executive Director, at 410-321-2398.