Founded in 1995, Real Estate Bar Association Dispute Resolution (REBA/DR) was established to meet the needs of the real estate, transactional and litigation lawyers, their clients and the general public.
Today REBA/DR has become a Massachusetts leader in mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services with a long-established franchise and a high level of name recognition concentrating in real estate and business disputes and bringing a market-driven approach to ADR management. REBA/DR is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts, the second-largest state-wide bar association in Massachusetts, with nearly 3,000 lawyer-members. Today, REBA/DR handles far more than real estate-related claims, with a broad focus on business disputes of all kinds.
REBA/DR is an approved ADR provider for divisions of the Massachusetts Trial Court including the Superior Court, the Housing Court and the Land Court. For many business and real estate disputes, the disputant parties and their attorneys prefer a retired judge with trial or appellate experience to serve as a neutral mediator.
REBA/DR's panel of neutrals includes several retired judges of the Land Court, hon. Peter Kilborn (ret.) and hon. Leon Lombardi (ret.), two retired judges of the Superior Court, hon. Owen Todd (ret.) and hon. Catherine White (ret.), as well as five retired judges of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Former Massachusetts Appeals Court judges who serve REBA/DR include hon. Rudolph Kass (ret.), hon. Christopher Armstrong (ret.), hon. Mel Greenberg (ret.) and hon. Kenneth Laurence (ret.).
The ADR panel also includes a number of neutrals who concentrate in particular areas, including former Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) president Joseph Vrabel, leading Berkshire County real estate practitioner, Sydney Smithers, retired Brown Rudnick partner Joel Reck and former MBA president and leader of the Worcester County bar, Edward McIntyre.
REBA DR's staff can schedule mediations at convenient venues across the Commonwealth.
The panel also includes a number of specialists who possess a depth of knowledge in particular areas including surveying and engineering issues, environmental law and practice, zoning and land use disputes, employment law conflicts and professional liability and personal injury claims.
To learn more about REBA Dispute Resolution, go to www.reba.net.
Michael MacClary is a partner at Burns & Levinson LLP, and president-elect of the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts, Boston, Mass.