Each year, the North Carolina Judicial Branch recognizes Conflict Resolution Day which falls on October 20, 2022. In this episode, we honor this special day with two segments featuring the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. In the first segment, the Commission’s Executive Director Tara Kozlowski interviews the Commission’s Vice-Chairman, North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson, about the structure and role of the Commission. In the second segment, Administrative Assistant Maureen Robinson joins Kozlowski to share a few of the more memorable stories, and lessons learned, from mediations over their careers in North Carolina’s courts. 

"If we just look at the number of court cases that are filed every year, over two million, if you had to try every case you would never get to all of them," said Tyson on the podcast. "If there is another mechanism where parties can come to an agreement voluntarily and take the case out of the court system, that is good."

The North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission was established in October 1995 and is charged primarily with certifying and regulating private mediators who serve North Carolina courts. To find out more about the Commission, visit NCcourts.gov.