An Investment Wipeout That Didn’t Have to Happen
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/business/an-investment-wipeout-that-didnt-have-to-happen.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/04/19/business/morgenson/morgenson-thumbStandard.jpg" border="0" height="75" width="75" hspace="4" align="left"></a>An investor won an arbitration case over money lost in a complex security. But he’s still angry at financial institutions.
DEALBOOK; Former Catcher for Red Sox Wins Case Against Merrill Lynch Adviser
Arbitration panel awards former Boston Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli and his wife more than $1.2 million in damages and fees in his dispute with Phil Scott, one of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's financial advisors. Photo (M)/


carry the torch and ask its majority law firms to demonstrate a commitment to diversity. Many firms can attest to the fact that a failure to demonstrate a commitment to diversity would jeopardize their relationship with Shell. Once again Shell has come to the forefront by introducing supplier diversity to the ADR profession and announced that Shell will extend business opportunities to certified minority and women ADR neutrals. These efforts, coined as "second tier" allow Shell to influence prime or majority ADR firms, with whom they do business, to also contract with minority and women owned ADR firms within the business community. Shell's message is driven by contract language and sharing information on benefits of engaging a more representative group of suppliers. In the upcoming months Shell will be targeting prime firms that provide ADR services to participate in second tier efforts. Shell astutely recognizes that by embracing the concept of inclusion, the company will rise to a higher level, reflecting its belief that it "will benefit from diversity through better relationships with customers, suppliers, partners, employees, government and other stakeholders, with positive impact on the bottom line."

Law firms agreed that law firm Diversity initiatives did not gain any momentum until corporations made demands that law firms commit to diversity or they would lose the corporation as a client. Diversity in the ADR profession needs to take place, but that it is the economic motivation that will move Diversity forward in the ADR profession. If corporations make demands that law firms use ADR providers that are diverse in mediating or arbitrating their cases, or risk losing business, they will use diverse ADR panels. Unless it affects the bottom line, entities will not be motivated to move forward and embrace diversity in ADR. Shell Oil has taken the step to carry the bottom line torch which will ignite the Diversity fire in the ADR profession.

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By Elizabeth A. Moreno, Esq, a Los Angeles employment attorney and mediator, who guides small business through treacherous rivers of employment compliance and litigation that threaten to sink their business. For more information go to www.eampc.com or contact morenolaw@eampc.com. .

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