Introductory comments from ABA officials identified sources of information on dispute resolution and emphasized the important contribution of this movement to prompt and economic resolution of minor conflicts which strain an already overburdened court system. The president of the Canadian Bar Association asked the panel to address the involvement of bar associations in dispute resolution centers, whether such centers threatened private practitioners, and a lawyer's duties when a client used a dispute resolution center. The first panel member, a private attorney with considerable experience in dispute resolution, was an enthusiastic supporter of these programs. He noted that attorneys should advise parties on all legal alternatives and be sensitive to clients' priorities in resolving a conflict. The second speaker reviewed Canadian initiatives in mediation and felt that the lawyer's role should be confined to the preliminary stages. A board member from Atlanta's Neighborhood Justice Center believed that lawyers had no place in dispute resolution and cited its principal benefits as providing justice for a segment of the population that normally was excluded from the judicial system and relieving court congestion. A judge from Texas and a proponent of State dispute resolution of litigation, described the development of Texas' program and its impact on the legal system. The final panelist, the director of Cleveland's Criminal Justice Public Information Center, reviewed projects initiated by that organization in response to citizens' demands for dispute, arbitration, and mediation programs. Topics covered in the concluding discussion included types of cases appropriate for mediation, lawyers' complaints that mediation takes their business away, and the future role of dispute resolution centers.