"It's a real honor to accept this award. The work and leadership of the AAA have helped promote the use of arbitration as a way to settle disputes. In today's society, the first reaction of parties in a dispute too often seems to be to take it to court. Arbitration provides a sensible, economical and speedy resolution to problems we face," said Grassley.
The award was established in 1977 in recognition of the contribution that Whitney North Seymour made towards encouraging lawyers to make use of the arbitration process. Mr. Seymour, who died in 1983, was a former president of the American Bar Association and of the AAA.
Previous distinguished recipients include: Chief Justice Warren Burger; The Hon. Cyrus Vance, former Secretary of State; The Hon. Griffin Bell, former attorney general of the U.S.; Eleanor Holmes Norton, former chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; The Hon. Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York; Robert William Meserve, Esq., former president, American Bar Association; and The Hon. Janet Reno, attorney general of the U.S.
During the 104th Congress, Grassley fought for and won passage of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996. This law expanded and made permanent Grassley's Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1990, which created a framework for alternative dispute resolution for all agencies of federal government. Now, for example, if individuals or businesses have disputes with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, they can choose to solve their problems through arbitration, or other alternative methods, instead of going through the time-consuming and expensive process of litigating the issue in court.
Grassley is a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, and serves as the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts.