OBD 1160.1 

PROMOTING THE BROADER APPROPRIATE USE OF 

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION TECHNIQUES 

Approval Date: April 6, 1995 

Approved By: JANET RENO 

Attorney General 

Distribution: OBD/H-1; OBD/F-2; SPL-23 

Initiated By: Office of the Associate Attorney 

General 

1.	 PURPOSE. The purpose of this order is to promote the broader use of alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) in appropriate cases to improve access to justice for all citizens and to lead to 

more effective resolution of disputes involving the government. 

2.	 SCOPE. The provisions of this order shall apply to all Departmental litigating divisions and to all 

U.S. Attorneys. This order is applicable to civil matters only. It is not intended to affect criminal 

matters, including enforcement of criminal fines or judgments of forfeiture. 

3.	 MODIFICATION. This order expands upon but does not otherwise modify the Department of 

Justice's Memorandum of Guidance on Implementation of the Litigation Reforms of Executive 

Order No. 12778, notice of which was published at 58 Fed. Reg. 6015-03. 

4.	 AUTHORITY. In addition to the general authority conferred upon the Attorney General by law, 

specific authority to provide ADR guidance is provided by section 3 of the Administrative 

Dispute Resolution Act of 1990, Pub. Law 101-552, 104 Stat. 2736-37. 

5.	 DEFINITION. As used in this order, "formal ADR techniques" include, but are not limited to, 

arbitration, mediation, early neutral evaluation, neutral expert evaluation, mini-trials and summary 

jury trials. 

6.	 CREATION OF POSITION OF SENIOR COUNSEL FOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE 

RESOLUTION. There shall be created within the Department of Justice, the position of "Senior 

Counsel for Alternative Dispute Resolution." The Associate Attorney General shall designate a 

career employee of the Department of Justice at the Senior Executive Service level to fill this 

position. The Senior Counsel shall develop policy on, and promote aspects of ADR, and in 

furtherance of that goal shall: 

a.	 Assist senior management in developing policies for the use of ADR, including revising the 

Department Guidance on the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Litigation in the 

Federal Courts. 
b.	 Assist with the design and execution of ADR-related training, recordkeeping, program 

evaluation and reporting functions. 

c.	 Provide advice and assistance to Department supervisors and employees on selecting 

appropriate cases for using ADR and on the application of particular ADR techniques. 

d.	 Report regularly to the Attorney General, through the Associate Attorney General, on the 

status of the Department's ADR activities. 

e.	 Represent the Department in government-wide ADR activities, including programs and 

projects with the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Office of 

Management and Budget, the National Performance Review, and the federal courts. 

f.	 Advise senior management on legislation, rulemaking, and other policy matters relating to 

ADR. 

g.	 Serve as the Dispute Resolution Specialist for the Department of Justice as defined in 

Section 3(b) of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act, 104 Stat. at 2737. 

h.	 Perform such other duties and functions related to the promotion of ADR as may be 

assigned by the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General and the Associate Attorney 

General. 

7.	 COMPONENT ADR GUIDANCE. By September 11, 1995, each litigating division and the 

Executive Office for United States Attorneys acting on behalf of the United States Attorneys shall 

provide its attorneys with ADR guidance containing the following provisions: 

a.	 A policy statement by the head of the component indicating that attorneys are expected to 

use ADR in appropriate cases as an alternative to litigation and are to cooperate with courtannexed or court-sponsored ADR programs and with efforts to develop and evaluate such 

programs. 

b.	 A set of criteria to be used in identifying specific cases appropriate for resolution through 

settlement negotiations or the use of a formal ADR technique. The component guidance 

should also identify ADR methods most suitable to resolving certain categories of cases, 

and criteria for the selection of ADR providers. 

c.	 A requirement that any attorneys whose practices are substantially civil attend a 

comprehensive basic training program in negotiation and ADR and that all experienced 

attorneys handling civil matters be required to participate in periodic supplemental ADR 

training. The content and nature of such training shall be determined by the Senior Counsel 

for Alternative Dispute Resolution in consultation with the Department's training 

components. 

d.	 A complete explanation of the internal procedures attorneys should follow in obtaining 

authorization and funding for the use of formal ADR techniques. 

8.	 FURTHER RESPONSIBILITIES OF PERFORMING COMPONENTS. 

a. The components subject to this order shall coordinate with the Senior Counsel for 
Alternative Dispute Resolution the development of the ADR guidance, as well as their 

performance of related recordkeeping, program evaluation and reporting functions. 

b.	 The components subject to this order shall review their ADR guidance at least annually and, 

in conjunction with the Senior Counsel for Alternative Dispute Resolution, shall make any 

necessary changes. 

c.	 The components subject to this order, in consultation with the Senior Counsel for ADR, 

shall designate a person or persons with primary responsibility for coordinating the 

component's ADR efforts so that a network of individuals with ADR expertise is established 

throughout the Department. This network shall assist the Senior Counsel for ADR in 

developing and implementing Department ADR policies. 

d.	 The components subject to this order shall maintain statistics regarding its use of ADR and 

report those statistics annually to the Associate Attorney General. These statistics should 

demonstrate both the component's compliance with this order and the full extent of its 

overall use of informal and formal ADR techniques. 

9.	 NO PRIVATE RIGHTS CREATED. This order is intended only to improve the internal 

management of the Justice Department in resolving disputes and conducting litigation. This order 

shall not be construed as creating any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at 

law or in equity, by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any other person. 

This order shall not be construed to create any right to judicial review involving the compliance or 

noncompliance of the United States, the Justice Department, its officers, or any other person with 

this order. Nothing in this order shall be construed to obligate the United States to offer funds to 

settle any case, accept a particular settlement or resolution of a dispute, to alter its standards for 

accepting settlements, to submit to binding arbitration or to alter any existing delegation of 

settlement or litigating authority. 

10.	 FURTHER GUIDANCE. The Associate Attorney General shall have the authority to issue 

further guidance regarding the scope of this order, consistent with the purposes of this order. 

/s/JANET RENO 

Attorney General