War Stories

Appointment of Mediators, Conflict, Conventional wisdom, Cross-cultural, General, insider and outsider mediators, Instinct, International Mediation, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Mediation Users/Clients, Neutrality, peace negotiations, UN and International Organizations, Understanding mediation, War Stories

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /3 Comments

Recently my good friend Canon Andrew White (aka “the Vicar of Baghdad”, as he is the Anglican priest at St George’s Church, Baghdad) convened a meeting of religious certain leaders from Iraq and Israel, bringing together senior Iraqi Muslim and Israeli Jewish figures in Cyprus for several days of talks about peace. It was by…

Commercial Mediation, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Efficiency, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), harmonisation of mediation law, Hong Kong, International Courts, International Law, International Legal Theory and Teaching, International Mediation, Lawyers, Lawyers and Psychologists, mediation as a career, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), mediation traditions, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Memory and Illusions, Mentoring, Mistakes, Singapore, Standards, Status, Stories, Success in mediation, Switzerland, Understanding mediation, War Stories

(Brick Court Chambers / Clifton Chambers)/ /Leave a comment

Having last week returned to New Zealand from Singapore where I was honoured take part in the launch of the ICC Mediation Rules, I saw first hand the support for mediation in Singapore from powerful institutions like the Singapore Judiciary and the Ministry of Law. Singapore, and my guess is Asia in general, is in the…

Below the line, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Confidentiality, Confidentiality and Transparency, conlfict coaching, Conventional wisdom, Creativity, Developing the Field, Ethics, Future of mediation, General, Instinct, Interests, Language, Lawyers, Mediation Lawyering, mediation models, Mediation Practice, Mistakes, Skills, Stages of mediation, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation, War Stories

(Brick Court Chambers / Clifton Chambers)/ /5 Comments

This is where I did my best work in Christmas week – in the twilight zone between the joint session room to the right of the water cooler and the private caucus room off to the left by the green bins. Corridors can be furtive and risky spaces on mediation days – ‘don’t ask me…

Appointment of Mediators, Conflict, Costs in Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Decision making, History of mediation, Humorous Pieces, Impasse, Improvisation, Litigation, mediation traditions, War Stories

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /4 Comments

I am indebted to my friend and fellow mediator Mark Lomas QC for sending me the following email recently: ‘I have come across what I think may be one of the earliest recorded mediations in England, and conducted at the highest level. An Italian called Tito Livio dei Frulovisi wrote an account of the life…

Confidentiality, Deal Mediation, Disclosure, Enforcement, Ethics, Mediation Agreement, Mediators’ Conduct, Uncategorized, War Stories

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /4 Comments

Its interesting to me that when you Google “lying” and “mediation” you are redirected to “lying” (as in lying down) and “meditation”. Recently my attention was drawn back to the old issue of deception in mediation. It’s an issue that mediators, lawyers and parties engaged in mediation or negotiation do well to reflect on from…

Commercial Mediation, Skills, Social intelligence, Success in mediation, Uncategorized, War Stories

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

Sorry (as we Canadians tend to say a lot). I’m A few days late with this post as I’ve been vacationing in London U.K. with my wife and 14-year old daughter. (Wonderful time, thanks). Today is my first day back in the office after the two weeks away and I’m sure readers will know what…

Commercial Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Deal Mediation, Enforcement, Evaluative Mediation, Judges as mediators, Jurisdiction, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Practical Challenges for Mediators, Uncategorized, War Stories

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

In what I hope readers of this blog will consider a deft segue, I want to shift from the successful judicial mediation that I highlighted last month to one that didn’t proceed quite so smoothly. Deals negotiated in mediation tend to hold or, at least, that’s been the conventional wisdom. The theory is that because…

Commercial Mediation, Cross-cultural, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Impasse, International Mediation, mediation as a career, mediation models, Public Policy, Uncategorized, War Stories

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

Mediator is New Premier in Ontario Following my rant last month about the need for more mediators in public policy-making, the Liberal Party of Ontario has chosen a former mediator, Kathleen Wynne, as their new leader and, consequently, as the first woman Premier of Ontario. I had no idea this Blog had so much influence….

'Money-only' Cases, Combined Clauses, Commercial Mediation, Deal Mediation, Legal Issues, War Stories

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

“Thank God for the last minute; otherwise nothing would ever happen.” This old saying rolls through my mind as I sit to type this on my iPad in the departures lounge at Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport located on the island just opposite the heart of this great city. My blog post is due at midnight…

Apologies, Causes of Conflict, Clients, Conflict, Cross-cultural, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Practice, Memory and Illusions, peace negotiations, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Survivor, Transformation, Uncategorized, War Stories

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment

I find myself writing this blog from South Africa, at the annual conference of the International Association of Conflict Management – http://www.iacm-conflict.org/. It is a fantastic melting pot of ideas, bringing together a range of cultures and identities. Cultures, at first sight, seem to describe national and group identities: South African, American, French, Dutch, Tanzanian,…