Conventional wisdom

Conventional wisdom, Lawyers, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Mentoring, Stages of mediation

(Brick Court Chambers / Clifton Chambers)/ /2 Comments

Regular readers of this blog may recall my 10 tips for participants who took part in the recent ICC Commercial Mediation Competition held in Paris – a wonderful time was had by all but that’s for another post. One of those tips was about keeping it real and suggesting a ‘steel fist inside a velvet glove’…

Conventional wisdom, Decision making, Developing the Field, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Success in mediation

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This blog entry has its immediate origins in a passing comment by a mediation and university colleague. That colleague had just returned from a mediation and I – perhaps somewhat flippantly – asked whether justice had been done (the area of his work was employment mediation). His reply was simply to the effect that “the…

Availability of Mediators, Causes of Conflict, Civil rights, Conflict, Conventional wisdom, General, History of mediation, Impasse, Instinct, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /7 Comments

My December blog was centred around a 15th Century occurrence. This month, I am in the final two years of the 14th Century. Last night, I went to see Shakespeare’s Richard II at the Barbican Theatre in London. The title role was played (quite brilliantly) by David Tennant – a piece of trivia for all…

Below the line, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Confidentiality, Confidentiality and Transparency, conlfict coaching, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Developing the Field, Ethics, Future of mediation, General, Instinct, Interests, Language, Lawyers, Mediation Lawyering, mediation models, Mediation Practice, Mistakes, Skills, Stages of mediation, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation, War Stories

(Brick Court Chambers / Clifton Chambers)/ /5 Comments

This is where I did my best work in Christmas week – in the twilight zone between the joint session room to the right of the water cooler and the private caucus room off to the left by the green bins. Corridors can be furtive and risky spaces on mediation days – ‘don’t ask me…

ADR, ADR Agreements, ADR Clauses, Conventional wisdom, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Technology

(AIG Legal Operations Center)/ /Leave a comment

This fall, I taught a course on “Managing Litigation for Corporations” at the Straus Institute. The following post is a summary of some insights that came out of the experience. I felt that this was important to share with you, as it evidences attitudes of those about to enter the field and the challenges in…

Apology, Commercial Mediation, Conventional wisdom, Deal Mediation, Mediation Lawyering, Skills, Success in mediation

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /2 Comments

What constitutes effective mediation advocacy? Litigation lawyers in an ever-increasing number of jurisdictions around the world understand that mediation is becoming or has become the primary dispute resolution forum and thereforenaturally are interested in acquiring and enhancing the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively represent their clients in the mediation process. Earlier this year the…

Appointment of Mediators, Below the line, Bias, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Evaluative Mediation, General, Language, mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Training, Transformation, Understanding mediation

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /7 Comments

Mediators deal in words – not exclusively, but a great deal (and perhaps sometimes too much, but that’s another blog). So it pays for us to think carefully about what words really mean. A couple of years ago, I came across an article entitled “US facilitation yes, mediation no: Omar”. It detailed how Pakistan, through…

Commercial Mediation, Conventional wisdom, Evaluative Mediation, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), mediation models, Mediation Practice

(University of Strathclyde)/ /3 Comments

Recently I have noticed mediators using a label to describe other people’s practice. It is rarely a compliment. That label is “evaluative”; as in “she takes rather an evaluative approach” or “his background as a lawyer leads him to be evaluative.” More subtly, “We are firmly committed to the facilitative model” (and, by implication, not…

'Money-only' Cases, Appointment of Mediators, Business, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Conventional wisdom, Due Process, Family Mediation, insider and outsider mediators, mediation as a career, mediation traditions, Skills, Stories

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

Not so long ago I was a claiming party as part of a group of plaintiffs in the stead of my elderly parents in a multiparty, multimillion dollar mediation. Now, I mediate around 120 mediations every year as a commercial mediator here in New Zealand so it was with a mix of personal apprehension and professional curiosity…