Clients

Apologies, Clients, Creativity, Developing the Field, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, mediation models, Mediation Practice, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), National Mediation Laws, Regulation, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment

Mediation is often portrayed as a useful vehicle for disputes between equals, where parties can be expected to speak for themselves and neither has significant power over the other. Critics, and even supporters, become more sceptical when it comes to less symmetrical situations. Complaints against professionals are one such category. The professional is seen to…

Clients, Communication, Conflict, conlfict coaching, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Intuition, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Planning, Skills

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /1 Comment

In this posting I want to reflect on how, as a mediator, I’ve learnt much from the related but independent conflict management process, called conflict coaching. Before I get ahead of myself, however, let me start by offering an explanation of conflict coaching. Conflict coaching is a service provided by a conflict specialist to a…

'Money-only' Cases, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Creativity, mediation models, Mediators’ Conduct, Understanding mediation

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

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…

ADR, Appointment of Mediators, Availability of Mediators, Bias, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Developing the Field, Due Process, Ethics, Future of mediation, Hong Kong, International Law, International Mediation, mediation as a career, Mediation Practice, Skills, Standards

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

I come from a Western mediation tradition that argues strenuously for neutrality and impartiality in a mediator. Indeed, one of the first questions lawyers will ask when hiring me is whether or not I have any conflict of interest – in other words, do I know those involved in the dispute, have I worked with…

ADR, Arbitration, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Confidentiality, Confidentiality and Transparency, Conventional wisdom, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Enforcement of a Mediation Clause, Ethics, EU Directive on Mediation, EU Mediation Directive, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Legal Issues, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Public Policy, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /5 Comments

To paraphrase Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that mediation is confidential. Go on any training course, listen to any mediator’s opening speech, and the secrecy/privacy of the process will be affirmed and reaffirmed. In the commercial mediation arena, and these days most other practice areas, you will also sign a contractual undertaking…

ADR, Business, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Conventional wisdom, Decision making, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Interests, Lawyers, Lawyers and Psychologists, Legal Practice, Negotiation, Neuroscience, Skills, Uncategorized

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /1 Comment

Mediators often talk about the power of framing their own language and reframing the language of parties and others in mediation settings. For example, mediators may frame their comments in neutral, constructive and future-focused language. They may reframe party statements to detoxify offensive or destructive language or to create a shift from the negative to…

Clients, Commercial Mediation, Lawyers, Switzerland

(Esprit d’entente)/ /1 Comment

What is the possible role of the lawyer in a commercial mediation? How the lawyer should interact with his client in the mediation process? Here are some thoughts for using the lawyer as a positive element in the mediation involving a commercial dispute. Before mediation The lawyer should, as far as possible, facilitate transactional solutions…

Apologies, Causes of Conflict, Clients, Conflict, Cross-cultural, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, peace negotiations, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Survivor, Transformation, Uncategorized, War Stories

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment

I find myself writing this blog from South Africa, at the annual conference of the International Association of Conflict Management – http://www.iacm-conflict.org/. It is a fantastic melting pot of ideas, bringing together a range of cultures and identities. Cultures, at first sight, seem to describe national and group identities: South African, American, French, Dutch, Tanzanian,…

ADR, Appointment of Mediators, Availability of Mediators, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Surveys

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /Leave a comment

It’s never easy to get a grasp on national statistics for mediation. The closest we come in the UK is a biennial (that’s once every two years, not twice a year!) survey carried out by CEDR, for which I for one am very grateful. The latest survey results have recently been released and these are…