By: Adelita Moran
A new legal entity is scheduled to open their doors to the public on October 15, 2019 in Huntsville, Alabama. They’re called Alabama Mobile Neutrals, and you can come to them, or they to you. Having partnered with the Institute of Higher Global Studies, or “The Collective” as they’re re called in the legal community in Huntsville and Birmingham, we learned of the new partnership from a slight hint given in a news release published by a reporting agency in Dubai, UAE regarding IHGS’ Live Video Online Mediation Training Software Suite. They’re wrapping up beta testing shortly, working out any slight glitches, and the course is slated for release late this summer.
Mediators spanning across the state from Huntsville, Birmingham, and Montgomery as well as lawyers and other legal professionals, are adding access to their growing list of over 300+ “neutrals,” or those who are trained in arbitration. This stems from a collaborative desire to come together, foster a sense of unity, build more peaceful relations, and solve problems through conflict resolution for several communities.
Legal Alabama Mobile Neutrals, in partnership with IHGS plans to open a new office every year within diverse Alabama communities. The goal is to saturate neighborhoods with information on the mediation process, that all may have equal access to their low cost mediation services. “Doc” O. Pope Friedman seeks to not only expand legal aid through mediation and other legal services; she also desires to continue on and increase her role as a legal philanthropist toward the betterment of Alabama. “I’m proud of Alabama. Despite being known for its past of slavery, we know how to come together no matter our skin color, and resolve our own problems,” said O. Pope Friedman. “Conflict/dispute resolution is the key to better race relations and effective problem solving – across the board,” she added.
O. Pope Friedman, current director of IHGS, is earning a legal degree at present and has delved into the self-study of law since 2002. After a very intense negotiation process, she won the opportunity to do business with Alabama Mobile Neutrals. This was done primarily over the phone hands free, while O. Pope Friedman drove through a fierce snow storm to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to judge her fellow law student peers in the American Bar Association’s 2019 Mediation Representation in Mediation competition. This was held during their Mediation Spring Conference. Despite having been caught in last week’s fierce six-state blizzard, O.P. successfully fought to get to the competition because she knows the importance of the ratio of law students to group and judges to students when competing. This is important to O. Pope Friedman – keeping one’s word. In February, O.P. was asked by a local “super lawyer” to help judge a competition at Samford University, a highly respected and prominent law school in Birmingham. This contest utilized the very same ABA competition model as the national one in Minnesota.
O. Pope Friedman is also a student associate member of the American bar; is listed in the Speaker and Writer Database for Diversity and Inclusion; is a member of their Legal Education, Legislation & Lobbying, and Mediation Committee; as well as ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) Technology; and the Women in Law Committee, among others. In addition to studying other courses while on campus at Harvard, O. Pope Friedman has completed the course work in the series for Harvard’s Program on Negotiation via DAU’s (Defense Acquisition University) Harvard Executive Business Education Suite, as well as other Harvard courses. She is dedicated to helping others and has the goal of opening an expansive legal mediation clinic as well as a mobile service for those who cannot travel. O. Pope Friedman has a passion for educating the public so that they may know what situations may require a lawyer, and which circumstances may not – all while leaving clients the free-will to choose.
“Mediation is definitely the way of the future, a trend that’s just now going main stream,” O. Pope Friedman said. “Litigation, being so expensive and highly stressful for all parties involved, makes mediation the viable and affordable solution for all – as it allows parties in dispute from all walks of life, to work together to resolve their differences, with the neutral (or mediator) facilitating such success toward settlement whenever possible.”
Additionally, mediation professionals who join the group receive PR and marketing from a highly-recognized and proven Huntsville marketing guru. Services offered include regular training and continued education opportunities, facilitating networking with other mediation professionals, discounts for in-person classes, and access to the above-mentioned, soon-to-be-released IHGS Live Online Video Mediation Training course. Simply by joining the Alabama Mobile Neutrals’ on-call list, you will also be provided with guidance on case management and access to a top legal fraternity, not to mention many other benefits and features.
Mediation services include real estate, business disputes (including partners), commercial, health care, insurance, construction, environmental, professional liability, divorce, and family custody, as well as church conflicts. Want to know if our services are right for you? Don’t see the service you need? Simply call and ask them at 256-333-0048, or visit them at www.MediationPlanet.com and book a consultation.
By: Adelita Moran, Legal and Technology Reporter, Huntsville Legal News
