John Shaffer's Page

The WSBA ADR Section will hold its annual meeting on May 4, in conjunction with the 19th Annual  Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference scheduled for May 4—May 5, 2012. Please join us.  This is an open meeting for all section members who wish to attend.  We will be voting on officers for the 2012-2013 term: Officer Nominees for 2012-2013 Term:                     Lish Whitson: Chair-ElectCraig Beles: SecretaryCourtland Shafer: TreasurerThe meeting will be followed by a panel discussion, …See More

Here is some food for thought about home mortgage mediation in Florida from a reprint from a recent mediate.com post found at http://www.mediate.com/articles/BensonR1.cfm: The Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Disaster, Florida Styleby Roger Benson November 2011-Print…See More

I've struggled for a long time with personally finding the right form and mix of outer action and inner work.  And the idea of compassionate listening as a lawyer and an activist has added dimension and depth, form and content to a "lifetime" devoted to this effort.  Given the world unfolding around us, I now ask: Is it time to start a legal educational project and a political action organization or organism rooted in compassion? What would it look like, I ask, if aesthetic, sensitive,…See More

Information and discussion on foreclosure mediation under Washington's Foreclosure Fairness Act. An open public forum on best practices, current trends, new information.Open to any registered member of the wsba-adr.org network.See More

It has always seemed strange to me that while we talk about "the spirit of the law" I've never really been able to pin down in my own mind just what that might be.  Is fairness spirit? Justice? Due process? How about competitive instincts? A win or lose mentality? Anything goes in discovery, and filing last minute motions is o.k.?  Recently I've toyed with the idea that "the spirit of the law" is not in the law itself, but in the lawyers.  "Ah!", I thought, "in what spirit do I come?"  And "In…See More

It has always seemed strange to me that while we talk about "the spirit of the law" I've never really been able to pin down in my own mind just what that might be.  Is fairness spirit? Justice? Due process? How about competitive instincts? A win or lose mentality? Anything goes in discovery, and filing last minute motions is o.k.?  Recently I've toyed with the idea that "the spirit of the law" is not in the law itself, but in the lawyers.  "Ah!", I thought, "in what spirit do I come?"  And "In…See More