It has taken a lot of time and effort for the Ukrainian mediation community to enact the law on mediation (the “Law”). On 16 November 2021, the Ukrainian Parliament finally passed it. This development opens up a new chapter and further prospects for the growth of mediation practice in Ukraine. Congratulations to all my Ukrainian…

For readers who are new, the “Neuro-Linguist’s Toolbox” series is an ongoing series focused on using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) in our practice of amicable dispute resolution. The first section focused on rapport (the first of which can be found here). The second section focuses on matters of self-care and personal improvement for mediators (the first…

This series of blogs posts explores investment mediation from a variety of angles. In this second installment, we focus on what mediation is—and how it works—in the context of investment disputes.  In part one, we explore how to determine whether mediation is an appropriate option for resolving an investment dispute, while part three outlines the…

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard (PON) sends to subscribers a daily blogpost of interesting negotiation thoughts and analyses. It regularly visits the negotiation styles of world leaders with the idea that ‘by studying the negotiation styles of famous leaders, we can identify what to emulate and what to abandon’. Unsurprisingly it has shone a…

Professor A.C. Grayling, an Oxford don, has recently published The Frontiers of Knowledge.[1] According to Professor Grayling, the more humankind knows, the more we realise the limits of our knowledge. Grayling identifies twelve problems confronting scientific enquiry which he says stand in the way of increased knowledge. These problems can equally apply, in their own…

Mediation is known for its procedural flexibility, its inclusiveness in terms of who can come to the table, its cultural agility, its promise of creative outcomes that reflect what’s important to those involved and affected by the dispute. It’s not about fact finding, it’s not just about evidence, it’s not about third party decision-making. Added…

Negotiators in a mediation

It’s been a while since I wrote about practical tips for mediators. Yet when I ask people what they want from training or teaching the commonest answer is… practical tips. I offer some below on working with parties who take cold feet just as resolution is approaching. I was recently asked to speak with lawyers…

John Sturrock and I recently had the pleasure of contributing a session on game theory and mediation to a workshop on global conflict and dispute resolution hosted by the Delhi Metropolitan Education College. Preparing for the event led me to reflect further on game theory and its relationship to mediation. In summary, game theory analyses…

This series of blog posts explores investment mediation from a variety of angles. In part one, we explore how to determine whether—and when—mediation is an appropriate option for resolving an investment dispute. Part two elaborates on what mediation is—and how it works—in the context of investment disputes. Part three outlines the primary differences between mediation…