Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program: Theory to Practice

Andrea Schneider and Natalie Fleury have a new paper on SSRN that describes the Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program and analyzes the MFMP’s design by reference to dispute resolution theory.  The MFMP responded to the ongoing foreclosure crisis in Milwaukee, emerging from an initiative involving Marquette Law School and several government agencies, elected leaders, and community organizations.  The MFMP creates voluntary mediation opportunities for homeowners and lenders in the hope of renegotiating payment terms such that both sides will benefit.  So far, the results seem impressive, with home-retention agreements reached in more than forty percent of mediations and high levels of satisfaction reported by program participants.

Andrea and Natalie conclude as follows:

The opportunity to put years of writing and work in the field to use to help out the city, state, and court system was an honor and unique opportunity for the law school. Both professors and students witnessed law school teachings put to work and had a rewarding impact in their own backyard.  It also has given us, as designers, far greater insight into the local government and local community than we would have had without this collaboration. Most importantly, mediation has worked in exactly the way that we theorized. The communication between the parties is vastly improved through the program than it would be otherwise. Parties have control over the outcomes, not perfectly, but again, much more so than they would have in the alternatives. And the program provides for efficient solutions as the city continues to struggle with foreclosures. Moving forward, we have to map student availability and interest with the needs and opportunities presented by the program. But we have witnessed the putting of theory into practice in a wonderful way while recognizing that we would have all preferred that this particular need not exist.

Their paper, entitled “There’s No Place Like Home: Applying Dispute System Design Theory to Create a Foreclosure Mediation System,” will appear in the Nevada Law Journal.

Continue ReadingMilwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program: Theory to Practice

Marquette Law School Alumnae Honored as “Women in Law”

On Thursday, June 23rd, the Wisconsin Law Journal recognized its 2011 Women in Law honorees.  There were several MULS alumnae among the group: Elizabeth Blackwood, Michelle Fitzgerald, Mary Gerbig, Christine Liu McLaughlin, and Linda Meagher.  As you can read further on the Wisconsin Law Journal’s website here, these Marquette lawyers have compelling stories, have accomplished so much in their careers, and have served their communities with great distinction.

The other MULS alumna honored on Thursday night was our own Professor Phoebe Williams.  It is hard to properly describe the long and meaningful list of contributions that Professor Williams has made to the Law School, the Milwaukee community, and beyond.  Perhaps the clearest manifestation of the impact Professor Williams has had are her “living legacies” (the term Justice Scalia used to describe students at the dedication of Eckstein Hall).  Indeed, I have had countless students and graduates who have told me about the significant effect that Professor Williams had on their lives and careers.  So it was wonderful to be there on Thursday night to help celebrate Professor Williams’ much-deserved recognition.

Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees!

Continue ReadingMarquette Law School Alumnae Honored as “Women in Law”

Kearney Recognized as “Lawyer of the Year”

The Milwaukee Bar Association recognized our own Dean Joseph D. Kearney as “Lawyer of the Year” at its annual meeting earlier today.  In presenting the award, MBA President Michael J. Cohen particularly cited Kearney’s ambitious vision for Eckstein Hall and his leadership in bringing that vision to life.  Cohen noted that our new facility will serve as a valuable resource for many years to come, not only for our students, but also for the wider legal community.

In accepting the award, Kearney connected the Law School’s activities in Eckstein Hall to the ideal of the lawyer as a public citizen:

The greatness of the legal profession lies not only in its practitioners’ primary activities—doing deals, righting wrongs, protecting freedoms—but also in their other pursuits. The lawyer is, frequently at least, a public citizen, keeping his or her eye on the public good.

The effort of and in Eckstein Hall concerns all aspects of the profession, including an attention to the public good even beyond the development of future lawyers.  

Continue ReadingKearney Recognized as “Lawyer of the Year”