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ADR, Arbitration, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Corporate Counsel's View, Dispute Resolution, General, India, Legal Issues

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /2 Comments

This month of May witnessed the launch of the India International ADR Association (IIADRA). And what a blast it was! Judicial luminaries, leading lights of the legal profession, business leaders and politicians all descending upon the gorgeous port city of Kochi on the southwestern Indian coast in the state of Kerala. At first glance Kochi…

ADR, Developing the Field, General, Legislation, National Mediation Laws

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /Leave a comment

Ever since I started Law School, and for some years throughout my legal career, I was trained to work with the Win-Lose negotiation approach. Our legal culture glorifies the winners, but lacks conciliation alternatives. It provides no other alternative rather than seeking victory at the expense of the other parties. However, as soon as I…

Communication, General, Improvisation, Language, Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, Neuroscience, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

[Author’s Warning: This entry involves references to and discussions about the system of Cartesian Coordinates and how it might assist mediators in reality testing and reframing. Readers with a Math Phobia are advised to proceed with cautious abandonment.] [Author’s postscript: As I finish writing this, it becomes increasingly clear to me that some readers may…

'Money-only' Cases, Appointment of Mediators, Availability of Mediators, Commercial Mediation, Conventional wisdom, Corporate Counsel's View, Dispute Resolution, Evaluative Mediation, Future of mediation, General, Instinct, Lawyers, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Skills, Surveys

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

Most mediators I know graduated from the Facilitative School of Mediation – and we could spend much ink here debating exactly what that means but to my mind we were essentially taught to own the process and butt out of the outcome. Recently there have been a number of calls for mediators to do more – more what is…

ADR, Environmental Mediation, General

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /Leave a comment

“If we listen attentively, we shall hear amid the uproar of empires and nations, the faint fluttering of wings, the gentle stirring of life and hope. Some say this hope lies in a nation, others,in a man. I believe, rather, that it is awakened, revived, nourished by millions of solitary individuals whose deeds and words…

Bias, Causes of Conflict, Communication, General, Language, Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills

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

It is trite that one of key tasks of a mediator is to sort out what Patton, Stone and Heen in their book “Difficult Conversations” refer to as the “What Happened” conversation. Although they write about this and two other conversations in the context of negotiation, their insights are pertinent to mediators as well. One…

Appointment of Mediators, Availability of Mediators, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Developing the Field, Future of mediation, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), International Mediation, mediation as a career, Mentoring

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /7 Comments

A few years ago, the mediation world was alight with gossip about the proposed launch of IMI, the International Mediation Institute (see www.IMImediation.org if you have never heard of it). Proponents and opponents in equal measure gathered either to welcome a fresh initiative, or to man the barricades against an attack on cherished turf. The…

Commercial Mediation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Practice

(Pepperdine University School of Law)/ /Leave a comment

A new study of dispute resolution practices in Fortune 1,000 corporations shows that many large companies are using binding arbitration less often and relying more on mediated negotiation and other approaches aimed at resolving disputes informally, quickly and inexpensively. The 2011 survey of corporate counsel developed by researchers at Cornell University’s Scheinman Institute on Conflict…

ADR, Business, Commercial Mediation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.)

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /Leave a comment

Since 2010, when the Brazilian National Council of Justice (CNJ), the agency that controls and manages the quality of civil services rendered by the Brazilian Judiciary Power, issued Resolution no. 125 , the mediation market in Brazil became considerably more active. This new Public Policy provided instructions on the proper handling of conflicts within the…

Bias, Conventional wisdom, Cross-cultural, General, Interests, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct, Practical Challenges for Mediators

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

[Author’s Note: I am grateful to Ms. Melissa Teo whose journal ruminations led me to the random thoughts that follow] I teach mediation skills at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law and it has always been something that I have found tremendously fulfilling. Apart from influencing generations of lawyers to consider the resolution…