• Two current Academy members are required to nominate/second a candidate for consideration. (Please note that from 2021, the Academy roster is locked down annually, with nominees considered at the end of each calendar year for possible induction in January.)
• Only candidates with a law degree - who are current or former members of a provincial Bar association - are considered eligible. (Rare exceptions may be made for non-lawyers who are nonetheless in high demand for their dispute resolution skills with local law firms.)
• All members are professional neutrals, in civil/commercial mediation or arbitration practice for a minimum of 5 years, with a minimum of 30% of their professional efforts dedicated to civil/commercial ADR practice.
• All members must receive remuneration for their ADR practice at least 60 days annually.
• Members recognized as MEDIATORS must have mediated a minimum of 200 private civil disputes*, excluding pro bono or family law cases.
• Members recognized as CIVIL ARBITRATORS must have arbitrated a minimum of 20 civil/commercial cases to final award. (Exceptions may be made in the case of former judges, where written decisions from the bench may be considered.)
• Members recognized as LABOUR ARBITRATORS must have issued a minimum of 10 consensual labour arbitration awards over the last 5 years. Legacy members of the long-established Arbitators Association of British Columbia will be prequalified for membership to CADN's Labour Arbitration Panel.
• Nominees who are understood to meet these requirements must then submit materials for consideration, including biography/CV, and contact info for 8 lawyers (4 opposing counsel for 4 recent cases) for whom the neutral has:
  a) mediated civil disputes in the preceding 90 DAYS, or,
  b) arbitrated cases within the previous 12 months.
  These references will then be contacted by phone and interviewed by our Academy paralegals as to the nominee's approach, effectiveness, professionalism and wider reputation as a neutral within the lawyers' firms.

Following the above due diligence process and in consultation with our Executive Committee members, the final decision to approve or decline membership to the Academy rests with our Executive Director. **

* Waivers of the mediations total benchmark may be considered by the Academy in cases of exceptional experience and qualifications (e.g.; practitioners dividing their time between research and private practice, or those involved exclusively in lengthy/complex cases, major Special Master assignments, etc.) Academy Members may also be recognized as serving additional provinces, provided counsel in those requested regions can vouch for the nominee's local reputation as a neutral.

** This executive discretion applies both to the induction of nominees and, if deemed necessary, termination of memberships.