PHILADELPHIA – Stradley Ronon Senior Counsel Bennett G. Picker served as co-chair of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) Diversity Task Force Committee, which developed a clause to promote diversity in arbitration. The clause is made available to parties who wish to pre-commit to a diverse panel of neutrals in a future dispute to be resolved by arbitration.
“CPR’s new clause will promote the selection of highly skilled diverse neutrals, a goal of every major company in America. The clause will also accomplish a second major corporate goal - better decisions - as it has been established by virtually every study that diverse groups make better decisions,” said Picker.
The CPR Institute drives a global prevention and dispute resolution culture through the thought leadership of its diverse membership of top companies, law firms, lawyers, academics, and leading mediators and arbitrators around the world. The Institute convenes best practice and industry-oriented committees and hosts global and regional meetings to share practices and develop innovative tools and resources. The Institute trains on dispute prevention and resolution, publishes a monthly journal on related topics, and advocates for supporting and expanding the capacity for dispute prevention and resolution globally.
Picker is a full-time mediator and arbitrator, and has successfully resolved many hundreds of domestic and international disputes with a cumulative value of several billion dollars. Most recently, Picker was designated by the International Mediation Institute to serve as its delegate to the United Nations where he is working with ministers of several nations to explore the potential for mediation to serve as a means of avoiding and resolving public conflicts.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in eight strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.