June 16, 2023

Dear Inn Members:

As we close out the 2022-2023 Inn Year, I want take this opportunity to share a few thoughts I have about my tenure as President.

As many of you know, I unexpectedly started in this role when, in October 2018, our then President, Nick Stevens, whom many of you knew, suddenly and tragically passed away in a bicycle accident. I was an officer then, and I stepped up into the role of President.

Like many other organization leaders during the past five years, I also had to weather the ups and downs of the pandemic. I remained steadfast in my commitment to make sure that we never wavered from our mission to be a leading voice for ADR in New Jersey – if not the country.

I also wanted to make sure that we never left anyone behind as we transitioned away from in person gatherings to what turned out to be ubiquitous Zoom meetings and even Zoom ADR proceedings.

As an Inn, we have remained strong and focused these past five years:

  • We continued holding meetings and presenting high-level, advanced programming on various mediation, arbitration, and ADR topics.
  • We successfully converted to an all-Zoom calendar and have recently returned to meeting in person and arranging for hybrid participation. And, in doing so, we have brought in stellar speakers from around the country and the world to grace us with their presence and to learn from them.
  • We also kept the NJ ADR community together by continuing to hold joint meetings with NJAPM and DRS, as well as joint meetings with other Inns of Court, including the Memphis ADR Inn of Court – the only other Inn in the country devoted to ADR.
  • We continued to offer a full slate of NJ CLE credits, as well as the required advanced mediation credits for maintaining admission to the Rule 1:40 roster.
  • We held peer practice group sessions so that everyone could become facile with the features of Zoom. Like the rest of the ADR field, we led the way when the pandemic created backlogs in the courts. When disputants were denied access to justice, we were there to assist.
  • We put on a six-part ADR webinar series for the American Inns of Court, sharing our experience, knowledge, and expertise with our fellow Inns of Court members. (You may be surprised to know that, to this day, we still receive royalty checks for our work on that series.)

In short, we didn’t miss a beat. And I am proud to have helmed the oldest and longest continuing Inn of Court devoted to ADR – one that is in the midst of celebrating the 25th anniversary of its founding.

I want to thank the hard work of the Executive Committees who served during my five-year tenure, as well as all of you – past and current members – who have made the Garibaldi Inn a priority and helped make it a vibrant and robust organization. A special thanks also goes out to Pat Daly and Marie Fisher who provided invaluable assistance and support throughout the years. Thank you very much for all of your support and encouragement.

It has been a privilege, honor, and a pleasure – a labor of love – serving as your President, and I have every confidence that the organization is in great hands.

 

With warmest regards,

Theo Cheng

President, Garibaldi Inn (2018-2023)

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April 25, 2020

Dear Inn Members:

I would like to take this opportunity to update you on where we are and what is in store for the coming months. We have had a successful and enriching Inn Year, with programming addressing such timely topics as ADR in the European Union, an update on arbitration law, managing emotions in crisis situations, mediation in the environmental context, the current state of court-annexed ADR programs, and cybersecurity for neutrals. Along the way, we held our first joint meeting with the Justice Stewart G. Pollock Environmental American Inn of Court and once again brought together the three principal ADR organizations in New Jersey - the Garibaldi Inn, the New Jersey State Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section, and the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators.

With the entire world responding to an unprecedented health crisis and in-person gatherings postponed for the foreseeable future, the Inn has quickly converted to a virtual format and held its inaugural meeting via Zoom last week. With nearly two-thirds of our members in attendance, we heard from a representative of the Charter Institute of Arbitrators, and then held a program on international ADR updates with a distinguished and experienced panel. We will continue to hold our regular monthly meetings via Zoom, and, in fact, we will be extending the Inn Year into the summer with substantive programming, peer practice groups, and social events and activities so that we can stay connected as an ADR community.

This is undoubtedly an extraordinary time for everyone, and the Garibaldi Inn remains committed to providing its members with an Inn experience consistent with our resolve to uphold and promote the values of the American Inns of Court movement. Please continue to join us virtually in the months ahead, and I wish you and your family all the very best.

With warmest regards,

Theo Cheng

President, Garibaldi Inn (2018-2021)

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June 1, 2019

Dear Inn Members:

We have just completed another successful year of programming at the Garibaldi Inn, and I want to thank you for your continued membership and participation.  Once again, the Programming Committee strived to offer a diverse calendar of programming on topics as wide-ranging as multi-party mediations, on-line dispute resolution, electronically stored information, and litigation funding, as well as an opportunity to engage in peer-learning and education with ourselves about mediation best practices.  We also stayed up-to-date with the ever-changing landscape of arbitration law through a program addressing recent developments (including the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions on class action waivers) and a short pre-program on recent cases from the New Jersey federal and state courts.  We also invited notable outside speakers this past year, including Eileen Hoffman, Colin Rule, the Honorable Ronald Hedges, and Professor Elayne Greenberg, capping off the year with our second joint program with the Pepperdine/Straus American Inn of Court for Dispute Resolution.

This past year was also a sad one.  Last October, we were devastated to learn of the loss of Nick Stevens, our then President, in a tragic bicycle accident.  The Executive Committee will soon be announcing a way in which we plan to honor Nick's contributions and commitment to both the Garibaldi Inn and the ADR field.  Accepting the responsibilities of the presidency has been challenging, rewarding, and exciting.  One of the things we will be sharing with you is an Inn Strategic Plan that is currently being finalized by the Executive Committee.  Among other things, that plan will focus on increasing outreach, recruiting new members, re-engaging lapsed members, and increasing member engagement to enhance the Inn experience.  So please stay tuned for these and other announcements.

In the meanwhile, on behalf of the Officers, the Executive Director, and the Executive Committee, I wish you all the very best during the summer break, and we look forward to seeing you again at our first meeting on Thursday, September 12th.

With warmest regards,

Theo Cheng

President, Garibaldi Inn (2018-2021)