This posting is the first of what will be an ongoing series written by Niki Borofsky, Vice President of Membership, focusing on CPR Members and ways to make the most of CPR Member Benefits.

CPR’s Value Proposition: Meaningful Connections Are the Heart of Membership

As a relative newbie to CPR, I am still getting to know our members. But after six months of calls and emails, conferences and coffees, I am compelled to share a few key observations.

CPR members are, to a person: smart, creative, powerful, engaged, connected and caring.

It logically follows that the greatest advantage of participating in the CPR community – especially as a fully-fledged member – is the people you will meet and the interactions you will have. This truth cannot be overstated.

On the surface, CPR membership offers a variety of appreciable perks and benefits:

• A host of accessible and useful ADR resources (designed with end-users in mind) – if you have not already, alert your transactional team to CPR’s excellent ADR Clause Drafting tools!
• Day-and-night availability of our rosters listing more than 500 specialized and distinguished neutrals – where you can search by language, location, keyword and more…
• Tailored trainings and educational programs that tackle and teach the latest issues in dispute prevention and resolution with eye-opening, 360-degree stakeholder vantages – set up a session or webinar today.

These tools, lists and courses are amazing, but they are the tip of the value iceberg compared to the lawyers, businesspeople, academics, neutrals, staff and committee members you will meet as an engaged participant in the CPR community.

The more you put in, the more you get out.

Over time, working on committees and subcommittees, planning events and chairing task forces, CPR members get to know each other. As a team, we share our strengths – virtuoso elocution, incisive writing, vast experience, a knack for legal synthesis – and each member contributes and collaborates to help inform and create the resources that make CPR great. More importantly, trust is built, friendships are born and professional networks grow.

The rewards of CPR membership are big and small, subtle and obvious.

The stories of how, when and where CPR members recognize the value of relationships that have been strengthening throughout their time with CPR are varied and unique:

• Finding a familiar face at a seminar,
• Knowing exactly who to call when you are stumped on a difficult case,
• Understanding how to frame a business proposal from the client’s perspective,
• Winning new business, getting selected as a neutral, or hired for your next job,
• Being confident that your complex and delicate dispute is in the most competent hands.

For those of you who are already members, I encourage you to explore new ways to engage.

How will you make your next lasting connection?

• Drafting model clause language for more sustainable mergers and acquisitions with experienced standing neutrals – as a member of the Transactional Dispute Prevention and Solutions Committee?
• Co-authoring a Manual for Cross-Border Dispute Resolution with top partners from a leading European firm?
• Organizing a 2018 Annual Meeting panel and sharing an “aha” moment with the General Counsel of a multinational conglomerate?
• Serving on the Diversity Task Force, or hosting a Y-ADR event?

As we start off our new fiscal year, I hope this brief reminder inspires you to become even more involved. CPR brings together an awe-inspiring crowd: general counsel of Fortune 500 companies, senior partners at Am Law 100 firms and globally-respected neutrals, and young, talented attorneys on the rise – all committed to advancing the field of dispute resolution and creating a better future. What do you have to offer? What do you have to learn? Do better while doing good with us.

If you are an existing member who would like additional ideas on how to get involved – or if you are not yet a member but would like more information on joining CPR – please give me a call (646) 753-8225 or email nborofsky@cpradr.org.

Until next time,

Niki Borofsky