Book Review, Causes of Conflict, Civil rights, Conflict, Conventional wisdom, Cross-cultural, Dispute Resolution, Governments/Public Sector, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), International Law, International Mediation, peace negotiations, Practical Challenges for Mediators, UN and International Organizations

(Brick Court Chambers / Clifton Chambers)/ /Leave a comment

Prior to Christmas I found myself in Jerusalem, Israel – the heart of the heart of the conflict of our time. Here, no one agrees on anything – even the monks from various Christian denominations (Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Catholics and others) responsible for The Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christ was crucified, argue amongst…

ADR, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Europe, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), International Mediation, mediation models, Understanding mediation

(International Mediation Institute)/ /1 Comment

I once had the honour to meet the first woman in Space, Valentina Tereshkova. She said something that has always stuck in my mind: “Once you have been in Space you appreciate how small and fragile the earth is”. She meant that Space is a good place to be if you want put things into…

ADR, Business, Commercial Mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.)

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /Leave a comment

Despite the beautiful summer sunshine outside the window, the end of holidays always bring us back to the unavoidable reality of the new year: hard work. January is time to go through the large number of data and information that is published every year end, picturing not only the previous year (in this case, 2012),…

Commercial Mediation, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Developing the Field, Efficiency, Future of mediation, Governments/Public Sector, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Negotiation, Public Policy, Settlement Agreements, Success in mediation, Understanding mediation

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

A potpourri of mediation-related reflections as the holiday break fades from memory. Hockey Mediation – With last Saturday’s puck drops in 13 cities the National Hockey League has commenced its lockout-shortened season. Full arenas around the league confirm the strength of the game’s drawing power if not the forgive-and-forget sentiments of long-suffering fans. Readers of this…

Class action, Discrimination, Employment, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Planning, Wrongful termination

(First Mediation Corporation)/ /2 Comments

Mediating complex employment cases is like rehearsing for a concerto. The conductor spends a substantial amount of time reviewing the score, while the musicians practice the piece both individually and collectively. Hours and hours of practice result in one concert. Malcolm Gladwell, in his recent book ‘Outliers,’ describes the phenomenon of hugely successful people and…

Causes of Conflict, Communication, Conflict, General, Language, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /1 Comment

I read a long time ago that lessons for life can be found everywhere as long as we look for them. As with many of these quotes that we read, my response was to nod sagaciously, file it away for future reference and then forget all about it. I was driving the other day, about…

Accreditation, ADR, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Hong Kong, Jurisdiction, Legal Issues, Legislation, mediation as a career, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Standards, Training

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

Well, the New Year is a time for reflections, making new resolutions and fresh starts. In Hong Kong the 1st of January 2013 saw a fresh start for the mediation regulatory regime with the coming into force of the Mediation Ordinance (MO), which I wrote about last month. But it’s not just the MO, which…

ADR, Appointment of Mediators, Commercial Mediation, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Governments/Public Sector, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Scotland, Settlement Agreements, Stories, Success in mediation, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /3 Comments

Edinburgh is one of the world’s top tourist attractions. To quote its own website “Edinburgh is an multi-award-winning, world-class tourist destination. A must-see cultural capital. From stunning skylines to sandy beaches, festivals to fireworks – the city has something for everyone, day and night.” So, it can hardly have been good for business when, during…

Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Particular Sectors (e.g. Construction, Banking, etc.), Sport, Stories, Success in mediation

(CMS)/ /Leave a comment

It is not often that one has the satisfaction of witnessing mediation attracting so much public attention as has been the case lately in Canada and the US. All this thanks to Mediator, Scot Beckenbaugh, credited for his ‘extraordinary contribution’ to resolve the NHL Lockout dispute. Some observers have already nominated Mr. Beckenbaugh for the…

Conciliation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Domestic Courts, Future of mediation, Governments/Public Sector, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Legislation, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), National Mediation Laws, Switzerland

(Esprit d’entente)/ /Leave a comment

In previous posts I had pointed out how difficult it is in my area to make mediation taking off and despite the fact that Switzerland has been known as a “neutral” country with a long standing practice of promoting peace in the settlement of dispute, at least viewed from an international perspective. A figurehead of…