Legal Issues

ADR Clauses, Dispute Resolution Clause, Enforcement of an ADR Clause, Legal Issues, mediated settlement agreement, Mediation Act, Settlement Agreements, Singapore

, (Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

When disputants successfully resolve their differences at mediation, it is good practice to record the details of their settlement, with clarity and precision, in the form of a mediated settlement agreement (MSA). Ideally, they should also provide a clause for dispute resolution (for instance, a choice of court, arbitration, mediation or multi-tier dispute resolution agreement),…

ADR Clauses, Dispute Resolution, Dispute Resolution Clause, Enforcement, Enforcement of an ADR Clause, Europe, Legal Issues, Legal Practice, Med-Arb Clauses, Mediation Agreement

, (Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

Are agreements to mediate enforceable? The short (and incomplete) answer is: yes, they may be provided they are drafted appropriately. In this post we review a recent English judgment which sets outs guidelines for the enforceability of agreements to mediate under English law. In August 2019, the Technology and Construction Court of the Queen’s Bench…

Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), History of mediation, Legal Issues, Mediation Outcomes, mediation process, Promoting Mediation, Research, Scotland, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments
Stop apologising

(This blog is adapted from a longer version published by Prof John Lande as part of Theories of Change for the Dispute Resolution Movement: Actionable Ideas to Revitalize Our Movement. The Theory of Change symposium asked mediators and scholars to think big about their dreams and visions for the future, and was recently published on…

ADR, Conventional wisdom, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Domestic Courts, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Legal Issues, Litigation, Mediation and Society, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Stories, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment
Formality and informality

Place matters It’s good to see authors on this blog referencing academic research – see Rick Weiler’s recent post on decision-making. Similarly, a new chapter by Singapore judicial mediator Dorcas Quek Anderson (1) has got me thinking about the old chestnut of formality and informality. Anderson considers the impact on people and processes of the…

Argument, Below the line, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Dialogue, Experts, Fear, General, Joint Sessions, Lawyers, lawyers in mediation, Legal Issues, Litigation, Mediation Lawyering, mediation process, Preparation, Tactics

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /4 Comments

This is the first in a short series of how parties and advisers can best deploy the “assets” at their disposal in a mediation. Naturally, it is written from my perspective as a mediator, and so I recognise that it may look different when you are representing one side in a mediation, rather than in…

'Money-only' Cases, Accreditation, ADR, Appointment of Mediators, Argument, Australia, caucus, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Conflict, Court Procedure and Litigation, Creativity, Dispute Resolution, Evaluative Mediation, Impasse, Interests, Joint Sessions, Judges as mediators, Lawyers, lawyers in mediation, Legal Issues, Litigation, mediated settlement agreement, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Preparation, Set Aside a Mediated Agreement, Settlement Agreements, shuttle mediation, Success in mediation, The role of the mediator, Time Pressure, Understanding mediation

(Strategic Resolution)/ /Leave a comment

  Court cases are an important source of guidance for mediators, disputants and their lawyers. They remind us that the law casts a long shadow even when a mediation appears to have resolved successfully. They can rescue us – helping us identify and avoid previously unforeseen difficulties. Here’s an example Mr. and Mrs. Studer moved…

Enforcement, Legal Issues, mediated settlement agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Set Aside a Mediated Agreement, Settlement Agreements, Singapore

, (Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

As the practice of cross-border mediation grows, it is imperative for legal and other professional advisers involved in drafting mediated settlement agreements (MSAs) to become familiar with how different courts deal with litigation about MSAs. In this post, we look at a recent 2019 decision of the Singapore High Court, Jumaiah bte Amir and Another…

Appointment of Mediators, Experience, Legal Issues, Litigation, mediated settlement agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediator liability, Mediators’ Conduct, Set Aside a Mediated Agreement, Settlement Agreements, The role of the mediator, Tips, Uncategorized, War Stories

(Strategic Resolution)/ /Leave a comment

Although infrequent, court cases against mediators are illuminating, helping us avoid being dragged into court ourselves. Here’s an example In Tapoohi v Lewenberg & Ors (No 2) [2003] VSC 410, the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia, considered it arguable that a mediator owes a duty of care to the disputants. The mediated dispute This was…

ADR, cross-border mediation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, International Mediation, Legal Issues, Singapore Convention on Mediation

, (Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

This post is part of a series on the UN Convention on Mediated Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Convention on Mediation). In previous posts we have outlined the conventional view that Article 5 of the Singapore Convention establishes exhaustively all the possible exceptions to the enforcement of iMSAs that have otherwise have complied…

ADR, Arbitration, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, International commercial mediation, International Law, International Mediation, Legal Issues, Legislation, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Singapore, UNCITRAL

, (Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /2 Comments

For dispute resolution practitioners familiar with the concept of the seat of arbitration, it may come as a surprise that the new UN Convention on International Settlement Agreement Resulting from Mediation does not include provisions in relation to the ‘seat’ of mediation. Why, you may ask? The Convention includes no provisions on ‘seat’ simply because…