Adina F. Morse
Adina began her legal career as a litigation associate with the firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens and Young in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the firm, Adina clerked for The Honorable Curtis J. Joyner in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As an attorney, Adina represented clients in state and federal court in ADA, ERISA, insurance defense, construction, personal injury, medical malpractice and mass tort litigation matters. Adina was also an active member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice group at Stradley. As a practice group member, Adina served as a mentor, editor and alternative dispute resolution program designer.
Adina has also conducted extensive research in the areas of attorney - corporate client privilege and medical malpractice and mediation. Her publications include, select chapters in Effective Patient-Physician Communication, Wescott Professional Publications, LLC, 2004; Alternative Dispute Resolution and Medical Malpractice, The Legal Intelligencer, October 2003; Federal Trend Protects Mediation Privilege, The ADR Advisor, Fall/Winter 2002.
Adina has a strong interest in, and a passion for all forms of dispute resolution. She has taught mediation as an Adjunct Professor at William Mitchell College of Law and at Washburn University Law School. As a mediator with the firm Associates in Dispute Resolution, LLC, Adina focuses on workplace disputes and has mediated cases involving the Family Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, ERISA, and Title VII discrimination and retaliation claims involving race and sexual harassment with both male and female plaintiffs. Adina has also co-mediated cases involving student individual education plans (IEPs). Her experience as an elected member of the school board in Lawrence, Kansas has prepared her to mediate these and other issues involved in K-12 education. In addition to workplace discrimination disputes, Adina is currently expanding her practice to include mediation of domestic relations disputes and co-parenting plans.
Adina’s philosophy about mediation is that it offers an opportunity for confidential and creative solutions that are driven by the parties, rather than a decision imposed by the court. Mediation is also preferable to litigation when the parties need or want to continue to maintain a relationship after the dispute has been resolved. Additionally, the parties are able to divulge positions and underlying interests that might not be admissible or advisable to disclose in an adversarial process. Importantly, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution such as arbitration, can provide significant time and cost savings, allowing the parties to return to their pre-dispute lives much sooner than if they were involved in protracted, expensive litigation.
Adina has been an approved Civil and Domestic Mediator in Kansas since 2014. Adina is currently teaching the co-parenting class for the Douglas County District Court.
Adina received her Juris Doctorate degree from Seton Hall Law School in 2002.
She also has an MS in Community Health and Psychology, and BA in Philosophy from the University of Kansas.
Publications
A Discussion About Collaborative Law: What Exactly is It? Dispute Resolution News Update, July 2023. Click Here for a Printable Version
Kansas Qualified Domestic Relations Law: Not Fair, Not Equitable and a Malpractice Trap. Dispute Resolution News Update, June 2021. Click Here for a Printable Version
Researched and drafted chapters for Effective Patient-Physician Communication, Wescott Professional Publications, LLC, 2004.
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Medical Malpractice, The Legal Intelligencer, October 2003. (Click Here for a Copy)
Federal Trend Protects Mediation Privilege, The ADR Advisor, Fall/Winter 2002.
Master’s Thesis: The Effect of Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise on the Intensity of the Stress Response, University of Alabama Health Journal, 1994.
