Cara Lee Neville - Legal Background

The late judge Cara Lee Neville was the founder and President of Benchmark National ADR, LLC & Benchmark International ADR, LLC which specializes in mediation and arbitration services. Cara Lee was a qualified neutral under Rule #114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice.

Cara Lee was appointed by the Governor of Minnesota to the bench where she served full-time for almost 30 years, handling thousands of cases, including complex civil litigation. Her appointment followed many years of active trial work with extensive experience in front of juries.

In addition to her decades of practical experience working with lawyers, juries, and litigants and making decisions after listening to all parties, she had formal training in ADR from the American Bar Association - Dispute Resolution Section, in Washington DC., Nashville, TN, Hamline University School of Law Dispute Resolution Institute, the MSBA Annual Dispute Resolution Institute, the Hennepin County Bar Association and the Oregon State Bar Association and numerous other programs including the MN State Bar Association, and on International ADR through the ABA Section of International Law in, Paris, France, London, England, Warsaw, Poland, Zagreb, Croatia, Istanbul, Turkey, Vienna, Austria, Tokyo, Japan, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Montreal and Vancouver, Canada, and Copenhagen, Denmark.  Judge Neville lectured and taught lawyers about the practice of law locally, nationally, and internationally.  This training helped Judge Neville with all aspects of mediation, arbitration, early neutral evaluations, Special Master work, and other forms of ADR.

Judge Neville is a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell-Hamline) where she was the first woman President of the Student Body. She has been named one the most distinguished graduates and was honored to be named as one of the ''100 GRADUATES WHO HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE" in the 100 year history of the law school. She was greatly honored to receive her law school's most prestigious Warren E. Berger Distinguished Alumni Award. She was also honored as a "women of firsts" by her Alma Mater. Judge Neville not only attended the National Judicial College when appointed to the bench but was thereafter honored to be asked to teach at the college.

Cara Lee Neville - Teaching & Appearances

Cara Lee taught lawyers, judges and law school students locally, nationally, and internationally. She taught at William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell-Hamline) and, as an Adjunct Professor, at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. She was also honored to be asked to teach Trial Practice for Professor Charles Ogletree at Harvard Law School for many years. She taught continuing legal education (CLE) to countless lawyers and judges in various substantive areas of law, both locally and nationally including MN CLE, Amdahl Inns of Court, Hennepin County Bar Association and at the National Judicial College, the Minnesota Judicial College, the University of Minnesota New Judge Training Program, and at the Minnesota District Judges Association’s annual meetings, to name a few.

Cara Lee taught, lectured and served on panels on ADR, locally with Powerhouse Mediation and Amdahl Inns of Court, nationally in New York, New York and Washington, D.C., and internationally in Cambodia, Myanmar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ecuador, The Hague, Cuba, Austria, China, Kosovo, Turkey, Poland, Macau, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova.

Cara Lee was the author and contributor to many articles in legal publications and has appeared as a legal commentator nationally and locally on TV and radio shows such as Court TV in New York, PBS Radio, in Austin, Texas, KSTP, Chicago TV programming, National Press Club in Washington, DC, and Minnesota Public Television and Minnesota Public Radio.

This demonstrated ability to teach others, as well as her national recognition in both substantive and procedural law, assisted Judge Neville in resolving disputes as an arbitrator, mediator, special master, or judge for practice and summary jury trials.

Cara Lee Neville - Honors & Professional Offices

The late judge Cara Lee Neville was named "Best Mediator" by lawyers surveyed in the Minnesota Lawyer Magazine the last nine years in a row.

Cara Lee was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing her contributions to the Bar, the Legal Profession and the Public throughout her legal career by the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA).

She was elected to represent the Minnesota State Bar Association in the House of Delegates (the policy making body) of the American Bar Association (ABA) until her death.

Cara Lee was honored by her Law School William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell-Hamline) with the Warren E. Berger Distinguished Alumni Award.

Cara Lee was been honored to serve as President and on the Board of Directors of many legal organizations. She most recently served by the appointment of the ABA President, as a Special Advisor to the Board of the Rule of Law Initiative, and as Liaison from the Section of Dispute Resolution to the ABA Center for Human Rights.  Judge Neville served on the Council and as an Officer of the ABA International Law Section  and also served on the Mediation Committees of the Dispute Resolution Section, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section and the International Law Section. Cara Lee also served as Chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.  Only 1% of Lawyers are invited to join the prestigious Fellows organization.

Cara Lee served as one of the top five officers of the American Bar Association (ABA). The ABA is the largest legal professional association in the world, with members worldwide. She served on the Council of the Trial, Torts AND Insurance Practice section and has chaired the Criminal Justice Section, the Coalition for Justice and the Coordinating Council for the ABA Justice Center.

Cara Lee served on the Board of Directors of the American Judicature Society (AJS). AJS is an organization known for its work on Judicial Ethics and Professionalism, and Judge Neville chaired the AJS Judicial Ethics Committee. She also chaired the Ethics and Professionalism Committee of the ABA Judicial Division and of the AJS.

Cara Lee was honored by her peers to also serve as President of the National Association of Women Judges and the Minnesota Amdahl Inn of Court which is dedicated to the teaching of professionalism and civility among members of the legal profession.

The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) has honored Cara Lee with its Distinguished Service Award and she has twice been honored with the MSBA “Presidents Award”. She sat on the MSBAs Assembly which is the MSBA’s governing body until her passing.

Cara Lee served on the Board and as an Officer of the Minnesota District Judges Association.

She also received the Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) “Professionalism Award”, and previously served on the HCBA Governing Council.

Cara Lee has been recognized by the Hennepin County Bar Association and the Minnesota Women Lawyers Association for her “Leadership and Service,” the first such award given at its annual meeting for the Judiciary. She also recently received the “Myra Bradwell Award” from the Minnesota Women Lawyers Association for “expressing the highest ideals of the legal profession, including courage, perseverance, and leadership as exemplified by Myra Bradwell”.

Cara Lee is currently a LIFE FELLOW of the American Bar Foundation, an organization to which only 1% of the lawyers in any state are invited to join. She received the prestigious National State Chair Award at a ceremony held in Miami Fla.

Cara Lee has also been honored with the “Award of Excellence” by the National Association of Women Judges, presented at its meeting in Chicago, Ill

It is easy to see that Cara Lee was very active in the legal profession and worked well with a variety of different lawyers with diverse backgrounds.  It is this commitment to civility, to ethics, to resolving differences in large organizations, and to resolving differences among peers that motivated the late judge Neville to work tirelessly to reach amicable solutions between parties. She showed a deep respect for the legal profession and for the rule of law and its interaction with individuals as well as large corporations.  Through her numerous professional experiences, Cara Lee always found success and found that same success in her work as an ADR professional. Her legacy is what inspires Sara and Lisa to carry on in her absence.