Developing the Field

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…

Developing the Field, General, Interests, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Negotiation, Skills

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

饮水思源 – Chinese proverb meaning “When you drink water, remember its source” Many will remember 25 August 2012 as the day Neil Armstrong passed away. Neil Armstrong was a hero and an inspiration to many. He was of course the first man to walk on the moon and his achievement was symbolic to many of…

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…

Community Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Ireland, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.)

(Sabine Walsh Mediation)/ /1 Comment

I recently spent a very pleasant evening chatting to a German colleague over beer and toasted marshmallows. To my surprise, she prefaced much she had to say with the comment, “but sure mediation is much more established and better developed in Ireland than here (Germany)”. I was a bit puzzled by this perception, because as…

ADR, Creativity, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, General, Stories

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /1 Comment

One year ago, on the 1 September 2012, The Kluwer Mediation Blog was launched with an inaugural posting by the then Minister for Justice in Slovenia, Ales Zalar. Right from the start, Ales challenged readers by offering fresh thinking about political applications of mediation: “Mediation stands for more democracy, which we all need, because it…

ADR, ADR Agreements, ADR Clauses, Appointment of Mediators, Commercial Mediation, Corporate Counsel's View, Court Procedure and Litigation, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, Domestic Courts, Due Process, Efficiency, Enforcement of an ADR Clause, EU Directive on Mediation, EU Mediation Directive, Europe, European Law, Future of mediation, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), harmonisation of mediation law, Hong Kong, International Courts, International Law, International Legal Theory and Teaching, International Mediation, Mediation Act, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), National Mediation Laws, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Public Policy, Set Aside a Mediated Agreement, UN and International Organizations, UNCITRAL Model Law

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

Many have tried but all have failed to implement a definitive single enforcement mechanism for cross-border mediated settlement agreements. This lack of any coherent method of enforcement is widely seen as a major impediment to further globalisation of mediation, the argument being how can we expect parties involved in large international commercial disputes to embrace…

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…

Accreditation, Developing the Field, Efficiency, General, mediation as a career, Mediation Practice, Mentoring, Training, Uncategorized

(ADR Center Romania)/ /Leave a comment

The first mediation course is a special moment that each of us holds in our hearts and it represents the foundation of every mediator. The transformational process that we all go through during our training as mediators is materialized by the change in our attitude towards conflict and how to solve them. When we go…

Conventional wisdom, Developing the Field, Ethics, Impasse, mediation as a career, Mediation Institutions and Rules, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct, Mentoring, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Stories, Success in mediation, Training, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /6 Comments

Professions (and hence professionals) are both blessed and cursed with high expectations. The upside is clear: the public expects high standards, expertise and care, and in return is prepared to pay handsomely. The downside typically involves disciplinary sanctions against those not measuring up to those standards, although issues of probity rather than competence tend to…

ADR, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Mentoring, Training, Transformation

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

Part of my June was spent preparing for and being involved in a peer mediation initiative in Singapore called Peacemakers. This project was first run in 2010 and had as its purpose the goal of bringing the ideas of mediation and collaborative problem solving to young people. This initiative saw students (aged between 13 to…