ACAN News

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News and Updates

• ACAN's Letter of Support on the American Bar Association Rule Suggestion 24-CV-A Substitution “Court- Appoint Neutral” for “Master” (April 5, 2024)
• ACAN launches a campaign to “CANonize” Neutrals (November 3, 2023)
• American Bar Association Adopts Two Resolutions on Court-Appointed Neutrals (August 7, 2023)
• The Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals Establishes a Scholarship Fund to Help Those with Need Join and Participate in ACAN (June 20, 2023)
• A Movement Builds to Diversify Special Masters, Starts with a Name, Law.com article (May 18, 2023)
• ACAN Adds Two New Sections to the ACAN Benchbook (May 16, 2023)
• American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution Votes to Co-Sponsor Two Resolutions on Court-Appointed Neutrals (May 9, 2023)
• American Bar Association Judicial Division Votes to Sponsor Two Resolutions on Court-Appointed Neutrals (April 25, 2023)

Press Releases

• The Academy Of Court-Appointed Neutrals Applauds Request By The American Bar Association To Amend Federal Rules To Substitute The Term “Court-Appointed Neutral” For “Master” And To Permit The Use Of Court-Appointed Neutrals In Bankruptcy Proceedings (February 12, 2024)

• The Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals Announces the 2023 Edition of the ACAN Benchbook And New Publicly-Available Training Materials (January 18, 2023)

• The Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals Announces a New Way to "Find a Neutral" (December 7, 2022)

• The Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals Welcomes the Justice Administration Community to its Annual Meeting at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, CA, March 10-12, 2023 (November 16, 2022)

• The Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals Opens Applications for the First Ever Incubator Program to Train and Mentor Neutrals to Serve Courts (November 8, 2022)

• The Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals Applauds National Association of Womens Judges' Resolution in Support of Ceasing to Use the Term "Master" or "Special Master" and of the Use of "Court-Appointed Neutrals" (October 31, 2022)

• Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals Applauds Decision by ABA Committee to Also Change Its Name and to Issue a New Draft Model Rule for Court-Appointed Neutrals (August 1, 2022)

• The 'Academy of Court-Appointed Masters' is Now 'The Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals (ACAN)' (July 7, 2022)

• Academy of Court-Appointed Masters Announces Special Masters 101 Training May 4, 2022 and May 5-6 Annual Meeting (April 4, 2022)
• Academy of Court-Appointed Masters Announces Program to Train and Mentor New Special Masters and Improve the Profession (January 24, 2022)
• Academy of Court-Appointed Masters Opens Membership to Help People Become Special Masters; Former Director of the Federal Judicial Center Hon. Jeremy Fogel (Ret.) to Participate in Development Training for the Profession (November 19, 2021)
• Academy of Court-Appointed Masters to Open Its Membership to Help People Become Special Masters and Expand the Profession (September 2, 2021)

Media Appearances

• ACAN Past-President David Tenner Addressing the Court-Appointed Neutral Announcement in the Dominion v. Fox News Trial (Morning Rush - April 13, 2023)

• What a Special Master Does, as Told by a Special Master, David Cohen (NPR - September 5, 2022)

• ACAN President David Tenner on Using Court-Appointed Neutrals in the Review of Records Part 2 (Newsy - September 6, 2022)

• ACAN President David Tenner on Using Court-Appointed Neutrals in the Review of Records (Newsy - August 30, 2022)