In the latest of a series of outreach efforts, the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals (ACAN) announced today that it has opened its 2023 Annual Meeting to non-members. The meeting will be at the Loew’s Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, CA, March 10-12, 2023 and registration and information is available here.

ACAN President, David Tenner, explained, “this past year has seen historic changes in our Academy, our profession, and the legal and public landscape in which our profession serves. We have opened our membership to people who have not previously served as court-appointed neutrals, announced a first-of-its-kind training and mentoring program to help bring people into the profession, renamed our organization (formerly the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters) to reflect the broader and flexible service our members provide, and reached out to partner with dozens of organizations to expand the ways in which our members can serve the administration of justice. Our theme is ‘Meeting the Moment,’ and it is natural that we should do that by inviting everyone interested in the administration of justice to attend.”

Annual Meeting Chair, J. Gregory Whitehair, added, “we are expecting to have terrific programming and networking. The agenda is taking shape now, but we expect it to include training on new avenues people can use to become part of our profession; a program with journalists on the effect of the publicity surrounding the Trump case; a program with partner organizations on how to work together to broaden the profession; practical tips; and insights into cutting edge cases. Some of the speakers already planning to participate include Judge Judith Levy (E.D. Mich.), presiding judge in the Flint Water litigation; Hon. Kristen Mix (D. Col.), the Immediate Past Chair of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association; National Judicial College President Hon. Benes Z. Aldana (Ret.), and Ana Sambold, the Chair-Elect of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section.”

ACAN Executive Director, Merril Hirsh, added, “there has never been a meeting like this for people interested in joining or joining with our profession. ACAN is working to bring together courts, court administrators, alternative dispute resolution professionals, technical and scientific experts and academics to work together to advance our courts. There has never been an assembly focused on how to take advantage of all of these resources. We are reinventing a profession and excited about the chance not only to showcase it, but to learn from others.”

For more information, click here or contact Mr. Hirsh at [email protected].