Appointment of Mediators, Commercial Mediation, Developing the Field, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Uncategorized

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

Some disputes are more suitable for mediation than others. Counsel and their clients contemplating whether or not to mediate a particular dispute can sometimes benefit from a more structured approach to analyzing that question. It was with this in mind that many years ago my then partner and I designed the Mediation Suitability Checklist. The…

Appointment of Mediators, Availability of Mediators, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Confidentiality, Confidentiality and Transparency, Developing the Field, General, Lawyers, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct

(Linklaters LLP)/ /Leave a comment

We were pleased to see the recent launch of the Commercial Mediation Group covered by the Editor’s blogpost last month. So why set up the Group, what are we doing and where is this headed? As for the thinking behind the initiative, the Editor hit the nail on the head. For many years the ‘mediation…

Cross-cultural, General, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /1 Comment

It is the end of semester at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and I have just wrapped up the Mediation Workshop that I teach every year. This workshop is intended to equip senior law students with foundational skills of mediation and mediation advocacy through active learning activities like role-plays and reviews. One…

Conflict, Developing the Field, General, Humorous Pieces, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Success in mediation, Training

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

I was recently given an extraordinary birthday present: a day at the Nick Nairn Cook School (www.nicknairncookschool.com). Nick Nairn is one of Scotland’s most famous celebrity chefs, known for his respect for traditional Scottish fare, and as something of a foody I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday. I wasn’t disappointed….

Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, Legal Issues, Legal Practice, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Practice, Negotiation

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /2 Comments

It is a fact of life that lawyers will be involved in many mediations, particularly where they involve litigation matters. Despite initial reluctance to embrace mediation, the tide is turning as Sabine Walsh explains in her posting, Of Turkeys and Christmas – The Role of Lawyers in Mediation. A specialised form of legal practice is…

ADR, Dispute Resolution, Efficiency, Particular Sectors (e.g. Construction, Banking, etc.), Pre-arbitration Dispute Settlement Procedures, Time Pressure

(CMS)/ /Leave a comment

I have just recently received an arbitral award for a client that resolved a construction dispute which had arisen more than five years ago. Unfortunately, such time frame is not exceptional. Litigation would probably not have lasted any shorter. Construction disputes are usually complex and tend to involve stacks of documents. Such disputes often involve…

Conciliation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Legislation, Mediation Act, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Switzerland

(Esprit d’entente)/ /Leave a comment

In a previous post, I had briefly described how mediation is now embodied in the Swiss legislation and whether this may contribute to its development in Switzerland. Regarding mediation within the Judiciary, I had mentioned the lack of significant development in this field. I identified two main causes. The first one is the principle of…

Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Ireland, Lawyers, Legal Issues, Legal Practice

(Sabine Walsh Mediation)/ /1 Comment

Our local mediator’s association here in the Northwest of Ireland recently ran a public seminar on mediation and the future of alternative dispute resolution. The two keynote speakers were two very distinguished lawyers, a High Court Judge and a Senior Barrister. As I looked around the room, it struck me just how many lawyers were…

Bias, Clients, Conciliation, Conflict, General, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /Leave a comment

I recently came across a new word – new to me, at least, which was irritating because I pride myself on having a pretty good vocabulary. The word is “Chaordic”. To quote Wikipedia, “The portmanteau chaordic refers to a system of governance that blends characteristics of chaos and order”. The term was apparently coined in…