Scotland

Art, Communication, conlfict coaching, Dialogue, Framing, Language, Leadership, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mentoring, Personal Development, Scotland, Skills, Stories, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized

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Every now and again something happens to cause me to pause and think – or re-think. Recently, I had that experience at a small ruined castle in the heart of Scotland, near a lovely country town called Edzell. Edzell Castle, visited by, among others, Mary Queen of Scots and her son, King James VI of…

ADR, Arbitration, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Mandatory mediation, Mediation Act, Mediation Institutions and Rules, mediation process, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Policy, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /11 Comments
Shows forms of dispute resolution and the thick line between mediation and arbitration

Law students are probably familiar with a diagram like the one above. It arranges different ways of resolving disputes according to how much say parties have in the outcome. Much as Felstiner and colleagues (1) famously described disputes being transformed into court cases through ‘naming, blaming and claiming,’ this graphic illustrates a parallel transformation in…

Future of mediation, Lawyers, Leaders, Mediation Practice, Policy, Scotland, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

Some time ago, in these pages, I proposed the World Mediators’ Alliance on Climate Change. Out of that initiative grew the Mediators’ Green Pledge. Out of that we hope to see a supportive corporate pledge and a conference at the time of COP26 in November. More on that later. This month, I’d like to float…

Dispute Resolution, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Non-violent communication, Reflective Practice, Scotland, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized, Zoom

(Core Solutions Group)/ /6 Comments

“It’s hard to beat Dark Side of the Moon” he said. “What a piece of music.” I agreed: “Did you ever see Pink Floyd play Dark Side live? I recall being at Earls Court in 1994.” “I was there too!” he exclaimed. For a moment or two, we reflected on the album’s seemingly relevant song…

Developing the Field, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), mediation as a career, Mediation Practice, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Mentoring, Reflective Practice, Reflective practise, Scotland, Training, Uncategorized

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University of Strathclyde, host to Learning by Doing, mediation clinic conference

By the everyday miracle of Zoom, Carrie Menkel-Meadow spoke from her LA office to a Glasgow conference with a worldwide audience. Wrapping up ‘Learning by Doing,’ the UK’s first conference devoted to mediation clinics, her keynote described the inspiration for a whole career: a colleague in her legal aid office in the 1970s. While Carrie…

ADR, Commercial Mediation, Cooperation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Decision making, Dialogue, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Litigation, Mediation and Society, Mediation Outcomes, Policy, Scotland, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /4 Comments

I write this in the aftermath of yet another mediation in which the protagonists exhibited symptoms of having been seriously traumatised by the litigation process to which they had been exposed. Depression, suicidal thoughts, anger, loathing, destroyed relationships, large amounts of money spent with no discernible value. And this was a commercial situation, not a…

Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Leadership, Mediation Practice, Neuroscience, Personal Development, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Reflective Practice, Scotland, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /4 Comments

The process of discerning what to write about in a blog is interesting. Sometimes inspiration comes quickly. On other occasions, there is a barren wilderness, or a hotchpotch of half-formed ideas. This month feels like the last of these. I thought to write about a really excellent new book by the Oxford economists, Paul Collier…

Developing the Field, Experience, Instinct, Intuition, mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation process, mediation traditions, Neutrality, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Stages of mediation, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

I wrote this piece for Strathclyde Mediation Clinic after a series of conversations with new and learner mediators. Some surprised me with their passivity in the face of parties’ lack of knowledge or understanding. After some probing I learned that many new mediators recognise the problem but believe the model they were taught prohibits them…

Litigation, Mediation and Society, Mediation Outcomes, mediation traditions, Promoting Mediation, Reflective Practice, Scotland, Success in mediation, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /1 Comment

One of the positive aspects of the enforced changes brought about by lockdown is that it enables – or compels – us to try new things. So far, I’ve learned how to create and have issued 13 podcasts, the idea being to spread ideas as widely as possible at this crucial time. After much procrastination,…