The Association of Multi-Door Courthouse Practitioners® was established on the 11th day of November 2022 as an umbrella body for accredited alternative dispute resolution practitioners by Mr. Valentino Buoro, Attorney – Mediator and pioneer mediation advocate in Nigeria.
Mr. Buoro reasoned that mediators, mediation advocates as well as restorative justice practitioners and arbitrators who practice at multi-door courthouses required a common platform where they can interact, share practice nuggets as well as set professional standards for themselves. Membership of the association is open to both lawyers and nonlawyers who are qualified by training and accreditation to practice in any multi-door courthouse or other amicable dispute resolution fora.
Initial membership of the Association which now stands at over one hundred and seventy practitioners was drawn from the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC), the Attorney – Mediators Association (ATMA), the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates (SCMA Nigeria), the Mediation Training Institute (MTI-Nigeria), the School of Alternative Dispute Resolution (SADR), and other independents who signed up by way of formal application for membership.
It is the vision of the Convenor that the Association of Multi-Door Courthouse Practitioners will be a bulwark of support for Multi-Door Courthouses and its practitioners in the face of challenges. The Association will also vigorously advocate for the uptake of ADR processes as a viable option for the resolution of legal disputes and decongestion of conventional courtrooms.