On July 12, 2021 the UK Civil Justice Council published its Report on Compulsory ADR . It considered first whether parties to a civil dispute in England and Wales may be compelled to participate in an ADR process. As to this question, it will be recalled that, in the Court of Appeal decision in Halsey…

Good Faith is part of the Mediator’s mantra. Our opening addresses are full of it and it is something we regularly remind parties and their lawyers is an important element in rebuilding fractured relationships and achieving durable resolution. But sometimes it becomes obvious that Good Faith is missing in action. A very useful new article…

I was delighted to be approached to collaborate on this post by Dima Alexandrova, mediator and attorney-at-Law, founder of AdimaLaw practice in Sofia Bulgaria. She has experience in the ICC Paris and other competitions both as a participant, judge and coach. She has some interesting ideas to assist students in such competitions to make best…

Given the confidential nature of mediation, it is a rare set of circumstances that allow us to catch a glimpse into the mediator’s craft. The current review of the professional standards governing Australia’s accredited mediators provides one such opportunity, The review seeks, to the extent permissible, to uncover what practitioners are actually doing, including the…

Under Section 68 of the New South Wales Retail Leases Act, and in other Australian jurisdictions, parties to a commercial lease dispute may not sue until the applicant has obtained a certificate that mediation has failed to resolve the dispute or the court is otherwise satisfied that mediation is unlikely to do so. In response…

Looking back to my lunch on a balcony overlooking the Thames in 2006, I am struck by how far dispute resolution has developed since our host, Michael Leathes, asked: “how, if we could, might we improve the dispute resolution world”? In my opinion Michael’s contribution to that development has been as significant as that of…

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the administration of justice has led to commendable judicial innovation, such as the use of virtual hearings, while much of the workload has been postponed until the resumption of face to face hearings is declared safe. In a message to judges in the UK Civil and Family Courts…

In his recent Kluwer Mediation Blog “Is Zoom good enough for mediation?”   Rick Weiler notes the recent security concerns that have been expressed regarding Zoom. He has set out a very useful list of tips for using the Zoom platform for mediation as safely as possible. Another platform well worth considering is MODRON Spaces. Developed…

At a lunch at Globe House, Temple Place in London in early 2006 on a balcony overlooking the Thames, the host, Michael Leathes, then an in-house corporate counsel with some years of user experience in mediation and the arb-med hybrid, asked me and the others present – Jeremy Lack, Tina Monberg, Miryana Nešić and Irena…

Photo credit: Creative Commons Jean M.Mas 2/2007 Although my mediation training made no mention of it, 32 years of mediating have taught me that mediations generally unfold over two stages: Stage 1: “Who Did What to Whom”? Here parties (or their lawyers) follow the ritual of naming, blaming and claiming – recounting facts, providing evidence…