I still remember the very first time I met Colin. It was during my CIArb fellowship oral assessment in Hong Kong. Entering the room with an overwhelming presence, he asked the candidates several questions on costs in arbitration. While the questions themselves were tough and challenging, it was apparent through his encouraging tone and body…
The hills above Edinburgh, Scotland, were bursting with the splendor of bright yellow flowers when mediators from across the globe assembled for the spring conference of the International Academy of Mediators. I had been asked by the conference organizers to lead a discussion, with the goal of inspiring some of the world’s most successful commercial…
Having looked at The Rise of Co Mediation in Mega Mediations last month and the challenges such cases pose for mediators, let’s get a little closer to the inner workings of these mediations, especially at the intake stage. So many moving parts – the people, the paper, the posturing – like a long haul plane sitting…
The International Association of Mediators conference in Edinburgh last month provided a great opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned from the application of a principled negotiation approach, as set out in ‘Getting to Yes’. The conference benefited from the experience of over a hundred leading mediators from around twenty countries, along with policy makers…
I write this in the aftermath of the really uplifting and wonderfully diverse conference which I had the privilege to host and chair recently in my home city, under the auspices of the International Academy of Mediators. Nearly 120 mediators from over 20 countries attended and shared deep discussions about how we as mediators can…
During its 68th session from 5 – 9 February in New York UNCITRAL Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) concluded its work on the preparation of an instrument or instruments on the enforcement of international commercial settlement agreements arising from mediation. In the mediation community we often refer to such settlements as (international) mediated settlement agreements…
Winning is wonderful. No question. As I write this, I am admiring the winner’s trophy – earned by my team from the University of New South Wales in Australia – at the recently concluded 13th annual International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris. Two years ago we earned the same trophy and I never imagined we…
More than 1,400 years ago, Japan codified Confucian and Buddhist approaches to governing in Prince Shotoku’s Constitution, whose first article provides that “[h]armony should be valued, and quarrels should be avoided.” The underlying principle, wa (harmony), was promoted and reflected in the fabric of Japanese society and may have contributed to a persistent preference for…
The Singapore Mediation Act entered into force on 1 November 2017. As noted in an earlier post by Joel Lee, it is the product of painstaking study since 2013 by the Ministry of Law’s International Commercial Mediation Working Group, the Chief Justice, mediators, counsel, consultants, students, funders, international practitioners and dispute resolution institutions including the…
This is the second in a short series of blogs interviewing regular users of mediation about what they really want from mediators and from mediation. We kicked off last month with Rebecca Clark. This month, I have the pleasure of interviewing Michael McIlwrath, who has been the head of litigation for GE Oil & Gas…
