Ethics

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…

ADR, Below the line, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Corporate Counsel's View, Creativity, Decision making, Dispute Resolution, Due Process, Efficiency, Ethics, insider and outsider mediators, Instinct, Lawyers, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Mediation Users/Clients, Mentoring, Mistakes, Neuroscience, Planning, Skills, Standards, Stories, Success in mediation, Survivor

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

Down here in New Zealand it’s high summer and most of the country will spend until the end of January at the beach. I remember, when I was still at my law firm 10 years ago, the feeling of brief respite at this time of year before having to put on my boots again and trudge…

Accreditation, ADR, Appointment of Mediators, Availability of Mediators, Commercial Mediation, Confidentiality, Confidentiality and Transparency, Developing the Field, Ethics

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

We mediators need to market our wares, just like the fruiterer at my local Sunday Farmers’ Market when he calls out prices from behind his stall. Increasingly some mediators are choosing to do this by the numbers – advertising how many mediations they have completed and what level of success they have achieved. For instance, this…

Conventional wisdom, Cross-cultural, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Ethics, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), insider and outsider mediators, mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, omnipartiality in mediation

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /1 Comment

Geoff Sharp’s recent blog posting, Biased is better and Partiality is In, challenges the conventional mediation wisdom that views impartiality and neutrality as hallmarks of the mediation process. Here impartiality refers to a disinterestedness in the outcome of the dispute and the absence of real and perceived conflicts of interest in relation to the matter….

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…

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…

Business, Commercial Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Domestic Courts, Ethics, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Judges as mediators, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Uncategorized

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /1 Comment

Two stories in the Canadian media caught my eye this past month. New Rules for Bank Mediators – The Federal Minister of Finance has indicated that the Canadian federal government will not require banks to mediate their disputes with customers through mediation services offered by the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI). OSBI is…

Developing the Field, Ethics, Family Mediation, Ireland, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct

(Sabine Walsh Mediation)/ /Leave a comment

There is much discussion in Ireland at the moment on a proposed new piece of legislation on Mental Capacity. A 740-page Report on submissions to the relevant legislative committee was published yesterday , and though I have yet to even get through the introduction, I find myself wondering whether it might prove to be of…