Mediation Practice

ADR, Commercial Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Global Pound Conference Series 2016-17, History of mediation, Judges as mediators, Lawyers, lawyers in mediation, Litigation, Mandatory mediation, mediated settlement agreement, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Mediation Training, Settlement Agreements, Standards, Training, Understanding mediation, user perspectives

(Strategic Resolution) and (University of New South Wales)/ /1 Comment

                                                        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…

Future of mediation, Mediation Practice, Policy, Public Policy, Scotland

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Back in 2020, just before the world changed, I wrote a blog post on this site suggesting the establishment of the World Mediators’ Alliance on Climate Change. My argument was that mediation offers a much more sustainable way to resolve disputes than many other processes. We could also do a lot to reduce our carbon…

Artificial Intelligene, Deal Mediation, Decision making, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Mediation, Mediation and Society, Mediation Practice, Mediation wisdom

(Bruce Greig, Civil and Commercial Mediator)/ /1 Comment

Most people’s experience of artificial intelligence (AI) is limited to interacting with a chat bot on their bank’s website. These bots are unimpressive, dispensing trivial and mostly unhelpful answers. Don’t be misled into thinking that unhelpful chat bots represent the state of the art in AI, though. The cutting edge of AI research has moved…

Causes of Conflict, Communication, Conflict, Cooperation, Creativity, Dialogue, Economics, Interests, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Skills, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /1 Comment

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop led by William Ury in which small teams of participants were invited to apply his BB3 framework to challenging situations they were confronting. BB3 brings together a number of ideas and approaches that Ury has contributed to the field of mediation and negotiation over…

Chinese Culture, Mediation, mediation as a career, Mediation Practice, Mediation Skills, Mindset, peace negotiations, Philosophy, Settlement Agreements

(Kwok, Ng & Chan, Solicitors & Notaries)/ /4 Comments

Below was a conversation between two Chinese philosophers, namely, Huizi (“Hui”) and Zhuangzi (“Zhuang”) on the Joy of Fish when they were strolling on a bridge over River Hao more than two thousand two hundred years ago.   Zhuang :    That minnow swims leisurely and it must be joyful. Hui        :   You…

Bias, caucus, Caucus, Cognitive Bias, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Confidentiality, conlfict coaching, Decision making, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Flexibility, Intuition, lawyers in mediation, mediation models, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Skills, Mediation Training, Negotiation, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Reflective Practice, Scotland, Stages of mediation, The role of the mediator

(Core Solutions Group)/ /3 Comments

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….

Australia, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Mediation, Mediation and Society, Mediation Practice, Mediation wisdom, Online Mediation, Uncategorized

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Online processes in all professions soared during Covid. The legal profession was transformed. A multitude of online mediation platforms miraculously appeared and mediators barely skipped a beat. Benefits emerged – especially in a geographically vast continent like Australia – where advocates and their clients in distant locations saved significant costs in time, travelling expenses and…

Conflict, conlfict coaching, crisis negotiatons, Go to the balcony, International Mediation, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, peace negotiations, Reality-Testing, Reflective Practice, Scotland, Ukraine

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

I have been musing about what a mediator might say to President Putin given the opportunity. That led me to compose a letter a few weeks ago, with which I have since tinkered. This is merely a thought experiment. The letter goes something like this: “Dear President Putin I write as a mediator, a peacemaker….

Creativity, Dispute Resolution, Experience, mediation models, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Perception

(University of New South Wales)/ /Leave a comment

One of the great joys of being part of the world-wide mediation community is the  opportunity to learn and keep learning from professionals whose practice is far from homogeneous. The generosity in sharing thoughts, ideas and even intellectual property is remarkable. Despite this, there is still a lot about the practice of mediation that is…

Commercial Mediation, Community Mediation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Family Mediation, Lawyers, lawyers in mediation, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Mindset, Negotiation, Stages of mediation, The role of the mediator, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /14 Comments
Lawyer making opening statement in mediation

“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…