Peter Steenland, Senior Counsel for ADR at the Justice Department, opened the meeting and welcomed the 150 federal executives in attendance to the Great Hall. He introduced the first speaker, Attorney General Janet Reno.

Remarks of the Attorney General:

The Attorney General welcomed the attendees and noted everyone was gathered in response to calls from the President and Congress to create more dispute resolution programs in federal agencies. She stated that, while disputes are inevitable, our responsibility as public servants is to be problem solvers first. Our goal is to find less contentious, more consensual ways of resolving disputes.

The Attorney General stated that even when the government prevails in litigation, we do not always win. Litigation can be costly, time-consuming, and corrosive to all of the participants. It can rob us of the time and resources we need to do the people's business. In contrast, consensual means of dispute resolution allow the participants to retain control over the outcome of the conflict. They encourage creative thinking. The allow people to solve problems with a maximum amount of respect and a minimum amount of adversity.

Ms. Reno explained how the ADR Working Group will provide resources to agencies to increase their use of ADR. She thanked the people who had agreed to lead Sections of the Working Group in the future. She expressed her hope that the Working Group would assemble in the Great Hall in a year with every agency having a new ADR program in place.

Remarks of Postal Service General Counsel Mary Elcano

Ms. Elcano described the workplace ADR system of the Postal Service, an agency with 850,000 employees. This program, called "REDRESS," provides free, confidential mediation services to employees within a few weeks after they have filed their complaints.

An independent university professor who evaluated the system found that participants were more satisfied with the ADR program than with the traditional process for handling these disputes. In fact, employees were twice as satisfied with the amount of control, respect, and fairness of the ADR process as compared with the traditional process (88% vs. 44%). Both employees and supervisors were equally satisfied.

Data from the Southeast, where the program has been in effect the longest, show that fewer than 10% of ADR participants went on to file formal complaints, while more than 90% either settled or chose to drop their complaint. Nationwide figures also show that parties are understanding each other better as a result of mediation. After mediating together, 92% of supervisors reported that they recognized the employee's perspective (and 62% of the employees effectively confirmed that this happened from their side).

Ms. Elcano said that the goal of the Postal Service is for communication to come first and litigation to come last. The Service has authorized 105 dedicated positions to administer the program and committed resources to provide outside mediators as well.

Remarks of OMB Deputy Director for Management Ed DeSeve:

Mr. DeSeve said that a well-run agency should have a viable ADR program. He said that ADR is a priority of the president, and that OMB will review agency FY2000 budget requests in this context. He will instruct budget examiners that OMB should do everything it can to ensure that agencies have the flexibility necessary to create the most effective ADR programs possible.

Mr. DeSeve said there are a number of additional things OMB will do to implement the Presidential Memorandum. The President's Management Council, chaired by OMB, will be discussing the ADR initiative at an upcoming meeting. He will speak to the Budget Officers Advisory Committee to insure that the top budget officials of agencies know the president's emphasis on this undertaking.

In the coming months, the Working Group should identify other areas where OMB could be of assistance with the ADR initiative. He specifically requested that agencies work to locate structural disincentives to the use of ADR and develop ideas for incentives that would encourage its use. OMB can then use its central management role to implement ADR best practices government-wide.

Remarks of DOJ Senior Cousel Peter Steenland:

Mr. Steenland repeated the goal of the Attorney General that every agency create at least one new ADR program in place over the upcoming year. For some agencies, this will mean starting from scratch. For others, it may mean finishing work already begun. For still others, it means expanding the scope of ADR efforts already in place to reach and address areas not yet covered.

Mr. Steenland described some of the ways the Working Group will be able to assist agencies in meeting this goal. Following this meeting, the Working Group will devolve into four Sections, organized by subject matter, to provide guidance, technical assistance, and a forum for discussing best practices in ADR program design. These Sections are where the majority of the work in implementing the President's Memorandum and the ADR Act will be done.

Also available in the materials and on the website are the following documents. First is a list of the key elements of a successful ADR program, to assist agencies in developing new ADR systems. Second is a model "policy statement" for agencies to adopt. This document can save agencies the time and effort necessary to draft their own individual policy statement. Finally, there is a survey for all agencies to fill out by October 30, 1998. The information on the surveys will provide a benchmark for us, and enable the Working Group to provide the most useful services possible based on the needs of agencies.

Mr. Steenland provided the following timetable for agencies in complying with the Attorney General's requests regarding the ADR initiative:

October 3: Agencies notify the Department of Justice which introductory Section meeting(s) they will attend.

October 14: Contracts and Procurement Section introductory meeting, 9-12, Conference Room B, United States Department of Justice.

October 27: Civil Enforcement Section introductory meeting, 10-12, Conference Room B, United States Department of Justice.

October 28: Workplace Section introductory meeting, 9-12, Great Hall, United States Department of Justice.

October 30: Agencies submit the Survey provided in the materials from the September 14 meeting as well as on the website.

November 4: Claims Against the Government Section introductory meeting, 10-12, Conference Room B, United States Department of Justice.

November 13: Agencies notify the Department of Justice which Section(s) they will join.

Agencies should resopnd to Aloma Shaw, Staff Assistant, Office of Dispute Resolution, United States Department of Justice, at Aloma.A.Shaw@usdoj.gov, (202) 616-9471 voice, (202) 616-9570 fax.