[Writer’s note 1: In the spirit of whimsy that sets upon me during the lead up to Christmas, I wrote a letter to Santa Claus last year. This year, I received a reply from Santa that I would like to share with you here. (I will leave readers to decide whether my medication is losing…
The new ICC Rules of Mediation were unveiled this week at a global launch in Paris. Coming into force on 1 January 2014, the new ICC Rules will replace the ICC ADR Rules that have been used for amicable dispute resolution worldwide since 2001. The new Rules have been adapted to help parties resolve even…
Recently I had contact with the Design Thinking process, which is a creative problem solving approach that attempts to bring together tools and techniques from several disciplines and apply them to real problems or challenges. Although it follows no real pattern, as each situation requires unique approaches and solutions, a simple framework can be applied…
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Tan Pan [谈判 means “Negotiation” in mandarin] Symposium held in Hong Kong from 1-2 November 2013. This was organized by the International Institute for Conflict Engagement and Resolution (IICER) of the Hong Kong Shue Yan University. This symposium saw the launch of the Tan Pan Journal and…
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…
As mentioned in a previous post, this month I will briefly talk about two high profile cases from the corporate sector which helped to improve mediation awareness in Brazil and, due to its widespread coverage, provided the general public clear examples of how it is possible to fix complex legal problems by not letting our…
In the past 20 years or so, we witnessed an intensification of the litigation rate as the world became more globalized and people saw lawsuits as the only real alternative to a negotiated agreement. That created high caseloads, extended periods of time until final judgments, discouraging high litigation costs, dissatisfaction with the outcomes and lack…
On 10 October 2013, Lord Woolf delivered the Singapore Mediation Lecture 2013 to a packed auditorium. The second lecture in this series, the Singapore Mediation Lecture is a result of a partnership between the Singapore Mediation Centre, the Singapore Management University School of Law and Harry Elias Partnership. The inaugural Singapore Mediation Lecture was held…
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…
After a long wait, Corporate Mediation is slowly becoming recognized as an important settlement tool outside the small circle of current practitioners and enthusiasts, reaching a widespread audience which was unimaginable in Brazil not long ago. Among other evidence, a regulatory framework for Corporate Mediation is currently being debated at the Brazilian Senate, the traditional…
