Practice Area Groups and Partnerships at Miles: Q&A with Todd Drucker

Wed, May 8th, 2024 | by Miles Mediation and Arbitration | Thoughts from the Top | Social Share

In this month’s Thoughts from the Top, we talk with Todd Drucker, our vice president of business development, about new developments with Miles’ practice area groups, including our Medical Malpractice Practice Area Group. We also learn more about organizations Miles has been partnering with, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the ABA Dispute Resolution Section’s upcoming Arbitration Institute that Miles is hosting in June.

Q: Last year, Miles announced its new practice area groups, introducing employment and construction as the first two. Are there any new developments with these practice area groups?

A: Yes, absolutely. In 2024, Miles is sponsoring and attending several national conferences tied to employment and construction, including the Florida Bar Association’s Construction Law Institute, the ABA Forum on Construction Law Annual Meeting, DRI’s Annual Labor and Employment Conference, and the NELA Annual Convention. We’re looking to firmly build our brand in these practice areas.

Q: The Medical Malpractice Practice Area Group is the latest practice area group at Miles. When will it be officially introduced?

A: We have been marketing our individual medical malpractice neutrals individually for some time – it’s such an impressive group, including luminaries such as Gino Brogdon, Jr., Susan Forsling, Eric Frisch, Dax Lopez, Kristen Pierson, Jack Slover, Rex Smith, and many others. We look forward to officially introducing the Medical Malpractice Practice Area Group at the end of the second quarter of this year. I just spoke on behalf of Miles at the ABA Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Group Section Annual Meeting and enjoyed relaying the strength of our medical malpractice panel to the audience.

Q: Miles has been involved in several national events, including the American Bar Association’s Spring Conference in San Diego and Forum on Construction Law in New Orleans. Can you tell us more about these events and Miles’ growing relationship with the ABA?

A: The business of our neutrals is expanding far beyond the Southeast. Because of this, there is great value in continuing to build our brand nationally and the ABA provides a valuable conduit for this type of effort. We’re especially excited to host the ABA Dispute Resolution Section’s Arbitration Institute on June 6-7 in our Atlanta Resolution Center.

Q: In addition to the ABA, what other organizations does Miles support or want to become more involved with?

A: We’re proud of our commitment to diversity. Miles recently signed the Ray Corollary Initiative™ Pledge and diversity is a frequent topic of discussion among our staff and our neutrals. With this in mind, we will be exploring support of national affinity bars including the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), and the National Bar Association (NBA).

Q: In last year’s Thoughts from the Top interview, you mentioned building an arbitration practice area group around arbitration. Can you share more details on this?

A: Our arbitration practice continues to grow. Miles recently acquired USA&M, a premiere ADR firm in St. Louis. The USA&M panel contains several sophisticated commercial arbitrators, and we were pleased to add them to our already impressive panel.

Q: Can you tell us more about the upcoming arbitration institute that Miles is hosting in June?

A: We are proud to host the ABA Dispute Resolution Section’s Annual Arbitration Institute. We expect 100+ attendees and 25+ faculty members to participate. Three Miles arbitrators — David Gallo, Jennifer Grippa, and Tanya Tate — will be teaching at the institute. The institute is one of the premiere arbitration thought leadership events of the year – Miles is pleased to be supporting the event and leading the way!

ABOUT MILES MEDIATION & ARBITRATION

Miles Mediation & Arbitration is shaping the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) industry with our comprehensive professional services model that combines the expertise of our highly skilled, diverse panel of neutrals with an unparalleled level of client support to guide and empower parties to fair, timely, and cost-effective resolution regardless of case size, specialization, or complexity. For more information, please call 888-305-3553 or email support@milesadr.com.