During a delightful and mutually informative afternoon, on July 31, 2023, BASF’s ADR Department was honored to host a group of Taiwanese judges representing The Judicial Yuan of The Republic of China. Hsueh Ying Chao, Judge in the Civil Department of the Judicial Yuan, and Mu-Jung Tsai, Judge with the Taiwan Taipei District Court and current visiting scholar at Berkeley Law, helped to coordinate the visit of six delegates to BASF, as well as to other Bay Area private mediation providers and courts.
The Taiwanese Judges were especially interested to learn more about private ADR practitioners, specifically their relationship with the government and court, how they have successfully built practices and gained the trust of parties, and how the mediation providers select, train, and supervise panels of mediators. Our guests expressed surprise at the state of ADR in the United States, including the growth and success of private mediation, the lack of state and federal policy regulating ADR, and the high costs of private services.
BASF representatives appeared in person and by Zoom to present about our core BASF ADR programs and to engage in dialogue with our honorable guests. The following programs were discussed:
- Bay Area Mediation Services Program: referral panel for private ADR services;
- Conflict Intervention Service Program: city-funded program supporting residential and commercial landlords and tenants with free or low cost ADR services;
- SFUSD/SELPA Special Education Program: supporting students, parents, and school district staff and administrators with disputes related to special education; and
- BASF’s Mediator Training Program: which hosts our annual 40-Hour Mediator Certificate and 20-Hour Arbitrator Certificate Trainings, and various continuing ADR education programs.
Attending in person were (left to right in the photo):
Sabrina Chen, Legal Interviewer, Lawyer Referral & Information Service, BASF
Laura Benghal, Associate Mediation Counsel, Conflict Intervention Service, BASF
Marilyn King, Manager, Alternative Dispute Resolution Services, BASF
Ya-Hui Ke: Judge, Taiwan High Court, LL.M, John Marshall Law School
Chin-Chih Kao: President, Taiwan High Court
Chien-Wen Chu: Director, Office of the Vice President Office, Judicial Yuan
Mu-Jung Tsai: Judge, Taiwan Taipei District Court, now a visiting scholar at Berkeley Law
Wei-Hua Wu: Judge, Taiwan Yilan District Court, LL.M, John Marshall Law School
Hsueh Ying Chao: Judge, Civil Department, Judicial Yuan
Scott Goering, Senior Mediation Counsel, Conflict Intervention Service, BASF
Also attending via Zoom were:
Lisa Handley, Deputy Executive Director, BASF
Yeda Hong, Mediator, Conflict Intervention Service, BASF
Tonya Sahelil, Associate Mediation Counsel, Conflict Intervention Service and Special Education, BASF
Claudia Viera, Mediator in private practice and on the panel of The Bay Area Mediation Services of BASF
Urs Laeuchli, Mediator in private practice and on the panel of The Bay Area Mediation Services of BASF