|
IMPARTIALITY
Parties
shall be provided with
full and ongoing disclosure of any circumstances which could reasonably
raise a
question concerning impartiality or conflicts of interest regarding
selection
of the neutral, such as discounted fee or other contracted referral
agreements
involving an insurance company or law firm participant in a case.
PROCESS INTEGRITY
An obligation exists in cases
where the needs or demands
of the parties so dictate, for WAMS
to educate, refer for outside advice or withdraw from further case
involvement
in order to preserve the integrity of the dispute resolution process.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Any
attempts to circumvent statutory or WAMS
confidentiality provisions as set forth in a
signed Agreement to Mediate or Contract to Arbitrate shall be resisted
to the
extent allowed by law.
FEES
Parties shall be provided with
an explanation and estimate
of the fees to be charged for the services provided, including any
minimum,
cancellation or rescheduling costs, as well as any available discounted
service
or program opportunities. WAMS
fee
schedules are published on the WAMS
website at www.usamwa.com.
INFORMATION
Disputes
shall be accepted for resolution services only if
sufficient information about the dispute is provided to all parties to
make the
process meaningful and equitable for all involved.
QUALIFICATIONS
Any
neutral assigned to a case administered by WAMS
shall have met or exceeded the WAMS
professional neutral training and case subject
matter requirements as a prerequisite for service. All parties shall be
provided with biographical information about any WAMS-affiliated
neutral upon request, including prior case experience, areas of
practice and
law firm affiliation.
PROCEDURES
Applicable
WAMS
procedural and administrative rules for arbitration, mediation and
other
neutral processes shall govern all cases administered by WAMS. WAMS
hearing rules are published on
the WAMS website at
www.usamwa.com.
Copyright 2008 Washington Arbitration
& Mediation Service. All rights reserved
|
