Appointment of Mediators, Below the line, Bias, Clients, Future of mediation, General, Instinct, Intuition, Lawyers and Psychologists, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Perception, Philosophy, Quality, Standards, Success in mediation

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How many of us share the experience I have had – sitting on the last train home, late at night, with a day’s mediating behind me and no settlement? Perhaps even no meaningful progress towards a settlement? Occasionally, no offers even made? And as you do so, perhaps you find that your thoughts veer from:…

Brexit, Causes of Conflict, Communication, Conflict, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Decision making, Dialogue, Dispute Resolution, Europe, Fear, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Interests, mediation process, Negotiation, Trust, Understanding mediation

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /15 Comments

  Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised by the whole Brexit affair. I’m not talking about the result of the vote itself, but about the referendum process, the behaviour it engendered, and its aftermath. All the classic features were present. Classic features of what? Well, of binary processes. Those that offer a win/lose, yes/no, remain/leave…

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(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /8 Comments

Cogniscenti (and readers of Ema Vidak-Gojkovic’s blog The UNCITRAL Convention on Enforcement of Conciliated Settlement Agreements – An Idea Whose Time Has Come?) will know that talks are ongoing in an attempt to see if it is possible to find a common system for the direct enforceability of agreements concluded in mediation. This is a…

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(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /9 Comments

It’s not always easy to spot trends. But one that I have noticed over the last year or two is an increase in the number of cases I am being asked to mediate in which litigation or arbitration proceedings have not yet been issued. This produces different challenges. On the upside: • The parties have…

Conflict, crisis negotiatons, Disclosure, Dispute Resolution, Domestic Courts, Enforcement, General, History of mediation, Lawyers, Legal Issues, Mediation Outcomes, mediation traditions, National Mediation Laws, peace negotiations

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /3 Comments

This year in the UK we are celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter”. Signed in 1215, it remains one of the most famous documents in the world, and central to the British constitution. In mediator parlance, it is a “settlement agreement”. It came into being as a compromise between King…

Appointment of Mediators, Availability of Mediators, Bias, Commercial Mediation, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Gender, General, Practical Challenges for Mediators

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /14 Comments

This is a blog I have shied away from writing. Several times. Even now, as I do so, I am wary of it. But here goes. I’ll come right out with it. Very few women feature on the lists of “top” commercial mediators. This year’s Who Who Legal World’s Top Ten features precisely….none. Seriously? Come…

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(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /8 Comments

Something is in the air at the moment. And it goes to the heart of what we mediators do. On the one hand, noted mediation thinkers such as Robert Bush and Joseph Folger write an empassioned challenge to the profession “Reclaiming Mediation’s Future: Getting Over the Intoxication of Expertise, Re-Focusing on Party Self-Determination”, arguing that…

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(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /3 Comments

Global Legal Post recently carried an article intriguingly entitled “Lawyers find Eureka moments in the shower“. Sadly the article itself lacked the slightly salacious promise of its title. Instead, it focused on the results of a survey of London city lawyers, indicating that those surveyed did their most creative thinking in the shower or commuting…

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(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /4 Comments

Last month, Al Jazeera carried a piece called “‘Mama Boko Haram’ grasps for peace in Nigeria”. It detailed the activities of Aisha Wakil (pictured above), a Nigerian lawyer who has become a de facto mediator between Boco Haram and the Nigerian government – often at considerable risk to herself. “Mama Boko Haram”, as she has…

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The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was once asked why he continued to practice at the age of 90. “Because” he replied, “I think I’m making progress”. It is an extraordinary acknowledgement from a man widely regarded as one of the greatest ever cellists. Let’s be clear – Casals was a colossus in his world. Fritz…