Scotland

Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Dispute Resolution, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Negotiation, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Stages of mediation, Training, Uncategorized

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Three recent mediations in three jurisdictions raised some interesting issues.  Each mediation was different. One involved a claim for professional negligence against a firm of solicitors for (allegedly) incorrectly including an occupied building in the sale of a large piece of land. The sellers were unhappy that many years had elapsed since the transaction, a number of them passing while…

Apologies, Apology, Conflict, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Scotland

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

It is perhaps rare for a piece of legislation to receive enthusiastic cross-party support in any legislature. However, that is just what has happened in Scotland with the very recently passed Apologies (Scotland) Act 2015. Over more than two years, Margaret Mitchell MSP has piloted this legislation through the Scottish Parliament with skill and tact….

Apology, Causes of Conflict, Communication, Creativity, Dispute Resolution, Guitar, Humorous Pieces, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Scotland, Tips, Uncategorized

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‘Tis the season to be merry. And indulgent. ‘Tis also the season when favourite songs are compiled by well-meaning souls into apparently themed collections. In the UK, we have a long-running radio show called “Desert Island Discs” in which celebrities and others select their favourite pieces of music as they reminisce about their lives. The…

Conflict, Developing the Field, Family Mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation process, mediation traditions, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

“Patients don’t expect doctors to be perfect. They do expect them to strive for perfection by opening up their work to scrutiny” Atul Gawande, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 6/12/15. A bit of a treat for me last week, when four of my favourite academics came to Edinburgh. They were keynotes at Mediate Scotland…

Cognitive Bias, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Creativity, Negotiation, Scotland

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Negotiating in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is an experience to relish. I’ve recently returned from three days in that wonderful city, helping lawyers, judges and mediators to expand the use of mediation in commercial disputes, inspired by the excellent work there led by Asiyan Suleymanoglu and her colleagues. Working with one of the pioneers of mediation…

Developing the Field, Future of mediation, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Negotiation, Policy, Public Policy, Scotland, Uncategorized

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In recent weeks, I have had the privilege of mediating and facilitating in different matters with representatives of four governments . On one occasion they were on the same “side”; on another, notionally on different sides. A common theme to emerge was the needs and behaviours of political masters who were not present. The representatives…

ADR, Bias, Cognitive Bias, Costs in Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Domestic Courts, Europe, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Jurisdiction, Lawyers, Legislation, Litigation, mediation as a career, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), National Mediation Laws, Public Policy, Reform, Scotland, Uncategorized, user perspectives

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In 2006 Frank Sander produced his ‘Mediation Receptivity Index'(22 Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 599-618). The MRI would be a way of discerning the extent of ‘mainstreaming’ or ‘institutionalization’ of mediation in different US states. It doesn’t seem to have caught on, but among the questions Sander lists are: PROVIDERS – number of professional…

ADR, Arbitration, Dispute Resolution, Evaluative Mediation, Med-Arb Clauses, mediated settlement agreement, mediation models, Mediation Outcomes, mediation traditions, Neuroscience, Scotland

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

My wife and I recently spent a very convivial evening at the beautiful home in Sydney of leading Australian mediator Alan Limbury and his wife, Dr. Rosemary Howell, who coaches a team from the University of New South Wales in the annual ICC mediation competition. One topic which stimulated some forthright conversation was the use…

ADR, Commercial Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Legal Issues, Litigation, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Scotland, Settlement Agreements, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /7 Comments

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am exercised by the question of justice in mediation. I test the concept on people I meet; responses range from “that’s an interesting idea” to “it has nothing whatever to do with it”. At a conference earlier this year a senior lawyer claimed he could count…