The British Columbia Arbitration and Mediation Institute has announced the appointment of Michael F. Welsh, partner in the Penticton law firm Mott Welsh and Associates, as a director of the institute for a three-year term. Welsh will represent members of the association from the B.C. Interior.
Welsh is a well-known British Columbia trial lawyer and mediator, with a practice that includes civil and criminal litigation plus civil mediation and family law mediation.
Mediation and alternative dispute resolution solutions are increasingly being used to avoid the time and cost of court litigation in the resolution of commercial, family, estate, motor vehicle, insurance, condominium, landlord-tenant and other disputes.
The British Columbia Arbitration and Mediation Institute was incorporated under the Societies Act of British Columbia in March 1980. Comprised of almost 300 arbitrators and mediators throughout the province, experienced in all professional fields, the institute is a multifaceted organization that provides: a multi-level training program for ADR practitioners; accreditation for its members; a referral and appointment service for users, arbitrators and mediators; information on ADR; a speakers bureau; and in-house training programs.