Arbitration/ADR Areas of Practice

 

          Commercial Cases

          Employment Claims

          Consumer Transactions

          Contract Disputes

          Insurance Issues

          Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

          Aviation Law

 

Related Experience

 

More than four decades of experience in multi-jurisdictional civil litigation involving trials, appeals, administrative hearings, arbitrations and mediations while representing both plaintiffs and defendants.

 

Member of the National Roster of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and inducted into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

 

Instructor for attorneys and retired judges on arbitration law and practice including training certified by the Minnesota Supreme Court to allow for attorney eligibility in the Minnesota Judicial Branch Neutral Roster.

 

Author of instructional materials for courses taught to attorneys and law students including a compilation of significant arbitration statutes and case law in anticipation of submitting materials for publication.

 

Advisor to the Legislative Task Force for the Iowa State Bar Association to provide analysis and recommendations to the Iowa Legislature for proposed amendments to the Iowa Code for adoption of Revised Uniform Arbitration Act with state specific modifications. 

 

Instructor for law school courses including Arbitration Principles and Practice (2016-present), Arbitration: Practice & Advocacy (2009-2015), Arbitration: Law & Theory (2002-2013), Advanced Arbitration (2004–2008), and Arbitration Advocacy Competition (2010–2014) at the University of Iowa College of Law. Faculty biography is available at www.law.uiowa.edu/faculty/michael-pitton.php

 

Presiding hearing officer for educational institution disciplinary action on behalf of School Board.

 

Neutral appointed for evaluation and recommendations for resolution of disputes between tenured faculty.

 

Coach for the National Arbitration Competition Team of the University of Iowa College of Law (2013-2019) in the ABA Law Student Arbitration Competition.

 

Bar Admissions

 

United States Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Iowa, Supreme Court of Illinois, Supreme Court of Minnesota, Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa, U.S. District Court for Minnesota.

 

Professional Memberships

 

American Bar Association

Iowa State Bar Association

State Bar of Wisconsin

 

Education and Training

 

Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law, Iowa City, Iowa; May 1977. Writer for the Iowa Law Review. 

 

Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska in Psychology; May 1974. Teaching Assistant in the Department of Psychology.

 

Certified Mediation and Arbitration Training from the Dispute Resolution Institute at Hamline University School of Law and Mediation Center; May 1994.

 

Presentations

 

Online Arbitration: Lessons Learned in the Past Year for Creighton Law Review Symposium virtual joint presentation sponsored by Creighton University Law School in Omaha, Nebraska.

 

The Arbitration Conversation professional discourse with Amy Schmitz, Elwood L. Thomas Missouri Endowed Professor of Law. https://youtu.be/EnSZ8z2eido

 

Socially Distanced but Not Legally Isolated: Arbitration in the Time of COVID-19 joint presentation sponsored by the American Academy of ADR Attorneys in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Arbitration in the Time of COVID-19: Advantages for Clients and Techniques for Attorneys joint presentation sponsored by the Iowa State Bar Association in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Arbitration Techniques for Arbitrators and Advocates sponsored by the American Academy of ADR Attorneys in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Arbitration by Choice: An Overlooked Option, joint presentation co-sponsored by the Iowa State Bar Association and the Academy of Trial Lawyers in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

The Future of Arbitration – Good or Bad (Panel Moderator) to the Fifth Annual International Alternative Dispute Resolution Society World Congress in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Is Arbitration Another Solution to An Overburdened and Underfunded Judicial System – Insights and Alternatives from the New Task Force Recommendations joint presentation to the Fourth Annual International Alternative Dispute Resolution Society World Congress in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Mediation-Arbitration, What You Should Know, Alternative Dispute Resolution Seminar, joint presentation sponsored by the Iowa State Bar Association in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Practical Solutions in Proposing Mediation/Arbitration sponsored by the American Academy of Alternative Dispute Resolution Attorneys in Iowa City, Iowa.

 

Introduction to Arbitration, Participating in Arbitration Proceedings, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards and Ethical Issues in Arbitration (Program Chair) for Alternative Dispute Resolution seminar sponsored by the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City, Iowa.

 

Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards (Program Chair) for Alternative Dispute Resolution seminar sponsored by the American Academy of Alternative Dispute Resolution Attorneys in Dubuque, Iowa.

 

Arbitration: Nuts & Bolts to the American Academy of Alternative Dispute Resolution Attorneys in Johnston, Iowa.

 

Effective Use of Arbitration in Iowa sponsored by the American Academy of ADR Attorneys in Des Moines, Iowa.