The location was the Old Post House in Stafford, a traditional English, allegedly haunted, building with excellent conference facilities, good food and awful coffee. The occasion was World Conflict Resolution Day, this year on 18th October. About 45 mediators from around the world had gathered for a day of lectures on workshops on mediation. The…

On the final day of an advanced mediation skills training I took many years ago, the trainers brought in a group of improvisational actors. The idea, as you might readily guess, was to invite us to shake off our habitual responses (together with our post-lunch lethargy) and, unbound by convention, let our creative impulses off…

Theories are simplified models of reality. They have the advantage of shedding light on complex subjects through a simplified and understandable set of ideas. Theories help to describe, explain, foresee and control. Some theories can be easily proven and others not proven at all. However, there is a particular field of study, named “Game Theory”,…

Recently, during a lull in the action in a tort mediation, I was drawn aside by an insurance representative I see frequently. He had concerns about my “style” as a mediator. “Every mediation it’s the same thing”, he said. “It’s almost like everyone knows where the case is going to settle in advance so why…

Over the years, the Romanian people got used to the transition state. We are now crossing a difficult period for all of us, that of financial deprivation. People divide what they have left, dreaming to become exclusive owner of each inch of land, of each piece of wood of their old houses, of every brick…

This story is for you if: You have agreed to mediate a state court case before a damage analysis has been exchanged Before or during the mediation you exchange confidential damage estimates with the other side The mediation results in impasse and you receive a motion to remove to federal court with your damage calculations…

Singapore was the location of an ADR conference over 4-5 October 2012. The conference was entitled “The 5Cs of ADR: Collaboration-Communication-Consensus-Cooperation-Conclusion” and was jointly organized by the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, the Singapore Mediation Centre, the Law Society of Singapore, the Supreme Court of Singapore, the Singapore Academy of Law, the Ministry of Law and…

This week in Glasgow, Strathclyde University hosted the first seminar in a series entitled ‘Reframing Resolution – Managing Individual Workplace Conflict’. The six seminars will take place across the UK over the next 12 months and the opener was ambitiously called ‘Understanding Individual Employment Disputes.’ The day contained elements that were encouraging and others that…

The Czech Republic joined the EU Member States that have put the necessary rules in place to transpose the Directive 2008/52/EC on mediation in civil and commercial matters. The new Mediation Act (Act No. 202/2012 Coll., “the Act”) became effective on 1 September 2012. Whereas the Directive’s implementation was significantly delayed (Article 12(1) required Member…

After a recent conversation in Singapore with Joel Lee, one of our colleagues from our Blog I had a chance to meet there, I find interesting to briefly mention what is the famous “Fiutak Mediation Circle” that we use as model in our mediation training at Groupement Pro-Mediation (“GPM”) in the French speaking-part of Switzerland…