Causes of Conflict

'Money-only' Cases, Apologies, Apology, Causes of Conflict, Commercial Mediation, Communication, General, Interests, mediation models, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Settlement Agreements, Skills

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

This week I spoke to a group of young legal practitioners here in New Zealand. I aimed low and went back to source. I suspect I got more of a kick out of it than anyone at the session. So, mediators, look away. There is nothing new here. But users, occasional or repeat, I hope these three…

Causes of Conflict, Conflict, Developing the Field, General, Training, Transformation

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

I should state at the outset that I have a confession to make. Not quite yet but soon. As a long term practitioner and teacher of negotiation and mediation, it has occurred to me on many occasions that much of the conflict, trouble and strife that we experience, whether at an interpersonal level or international…

Causes of Conflict, Conflict, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Ethics, Europe, International Law, International Mediation, UN and International Organizations, UNCITRAL Model Law

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

This is the first of a series of four blog postings written by Nadja Alexander , Michael Leathes , Tina Monberg and Irena Vanenkova. Achieving the promise of mediation in conflicts that threaten the stability of societies and economies is one of the most important challenges of our time. Inspiring progress has been made in…

Bias, Causes of Conflict, mediation as a career, Mentoring, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Stories

(Sabine Walsh Mediation)/ /Leave a comment

“At these times”, said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, “I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one’s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.” (From Harry Potter, by JK Rowling,…

ADR Agreements, Causes of Conflict, Developing the Field, Employment, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Success in mediation, Transformation, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment

A human resources manager recently asked me for a general list of reasons why a mediation might not settle. While part of me wanted to question the idea of settlement as the goal of mediation (see Alan Gross’s excellent piece ‘Agreement Not the Gold Standard for Mediation – http://www.mediate.com/articles/GrossA3.cfm ) most of me thought this…

Bias, Causes of Conflict, Communication, General, Language, Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /2 Comments

It is trite that one of key tasks of a mediator is to sort out what Patton, Stone and Heen in their book “Difficult Conversations” refer to as the “What Happened” conversation. Although they write about this and two other conversations in the context of negotiation, their insights are pertinent to mediators as well. One…

Causes of Conflict, Conflict, conlfict coaching, Developing the Field, International Mediation, Mediation Practice, Neuroscience, peace negotiations, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

Last Sunday in Edinburgh I took part in a panel on the subject of Intractable Conflict. The principal speaker was Oliver Ramsbotham, Emeritus Professor of Conflict Resolution at the University of Bradford, and author of ‘Transforming Violent Conflict: Radical Disagreement, Dialogue and Survival’ (Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2010). He described a familiar, if depressing, phenomenon in…

Below the line, Causes of Conflict, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Efficiency, General, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Mistakes, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /Leave a comment

Many of you will have read of the tragedy this week in Arizona, where a mediation ended in the death of one party, and the serious wounding of their lawyer. Details are still sketchy, but it seems that a mediation of a commercial dispute was taking place in an office in downtown Phoenix, between a…

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…

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…