I am alive

After my month and half long respite from blogging, I'm back. My two-week drive from LA to New York, recent move into a 4th story walk-up in Brooklyn, and my continuing job search have taken up all of my time as of late. But things seem to be calming down a bit (though my wedding is now only 5 months away...), so I will try to be more attentive to the blog.

Now that I have returned to the East Coast, I hope to be able to be able to provide you with more information and updates on the international dispute resolution world. I don't care what the Californians say... the practice is just not very developed out there. Maybe someday. For now, I am happy to be able to have access to regular meetings and courses in international dispute resolution once again.

In the coming weeks, I will provide some thoughts on international arbitral appeals, fun with umbrella clauses and I will continue in my efforts to analyze diversity initiatives in the international dispute resolution field.

In the meantime, East Coasters should check out the following regular meetings:

The DC Bar's International Law Section will be sponsoring a series of brown bag lunch meetings on Africa in 2007. The first meeting, sponsored by the International Dispute Resolution Committee, will be held on January 31st and will analyze developments in commercial arbitration and mediation in the region. Future programs will pertain to international trade issues, FDI, environmental law, ICC prosecutions and access to justice for rape survivors in truth and reconciliation commissions established in post-conflict societies.

Back here in New York, I plan to begin attending the monthly New York City Dispute Resolution Roundtable breakfast meetings. The programs are organized by the City University of New York Dispute Resolution Consortium of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Last month, Gay Rosenblum-Kumar, a Public Administration Officer in the Governance and Public Administration Branch of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, met with the group. Ms. Rosenblum-Kumar works with government officials and their civil society counterparts in developing countries to enhance national capacities for managing conflict through various activities, such as training for individual skill-building, institutional development, and strengthening development practice and democratic governance. The next meeting will take place on February 1; attendees will engage in an informal discussion with Victor Voloshin, Esq., Director of Mediation for the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board.