lawyers in mediation
Mediation in Georgia: an Interview with Irakli Kandashvili
Nadja: Irakli , thanks for making the time for this chat. Before we start, can you say a little bit about your role in mediation in Georgia and the region?Irakli: Thank you for inviting me and expressing interest towards Georgian mediation. I hold several roles in the development of mediation in Georgia: as the Chairman…
Can we rely on judges to bring mediation into the mainstream?
In the beginning … Back in the 1976 Pound Conference called “Proceedings of the National Conference on the Causes of Popular Dissatisfaction with the Administration of Justice”, Harvard…
Reflections on Mediation in Practice and Bringing Parties Together
It’s been a long time since I wrote a blog just about mediation practice. Other things always seem more important! However, as I was mediating this week, a thought occurred to me about a rather imperceptible but very real change in my practice as a mediator, which I develop here, albeit in a simplified way….
Offers in Mediation, Busting the Myths
Offers in mediation are too often approached with all the coyness of gauche teenagers at a school dance (acknowledging that this metaphor may reveal too much about my own youth!). It need not be like this. Here are some thoughts to ease the pain. Going first is not weakness. All mediations require offers to be…
Opening Statements in Mediation: what world are we making?
“The world is made, not found.” (W Barnet Pearce) I had been a mediator for about 10 years before I heard parties’ initial words described as their “opening statement.” This may surprise some readers, though probably not if they began, like me, in family mediation, nor community or workplace. Other descriptions are available, as our…
Putting the spotlight back on hybrids
One of the important things that struck me about Dr. Anna Howard’s brilliant research into Mediation is the discovery that the General Counsel she interviewed for her project feel disappointed that the promise of mediation has not been realized. I feel the same disappointment – although my disappointment has a somewhat different source. What seems…
The Role of Law in Legal Disputes
While it is obvious that law is significant in legal disputes, how the law is used is not so obvious. This piece uses Oliver Wendell Holmes’s famous definition of the law as “prophecies of what the courts will do in fact,” rather than rules expressed in statutes, case law etc. It discusses two aspects of…
When Good Faith is Missing in Action
Good Faith is part of the Mediator’s mantra. Our opening addresses are full of it and it is something we regularly remind parties and their lawyers is an important element in rebuilding fractured relationships and achieving durable resolution. But sometimes it becomes obvious that Good Faith is missing in action. A very useful new article…
Mediation in the High-context Society of India – an Interview with AJ Jawad
Mr. Jawad has been a mediator since 2007 and a passionate promoter of mediation in India from its earliest days. Jawad works as a mediator and trainer with the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India and is a global faculty with ADR ODR International UK. He is a SIMI accredited…