ADR, Bias, Developing the Field, Ethics, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, Lawyers and Psychologists, Mediation Practice

(University of Strathclyde)/ /7 Comments

Most mediators are pragmatists. This may not be our reputation, but in reality we wrestle daily with practical matters such as who will do what, when they will do it and how much it will cost. I once taught mediation to a group of therapists. Their ‘soft’ skills (this doesn’t mean easy) were fantastic, actively…

ADR Clauses, Arbitration, Combined Clauses, Conciliation, Dispute Resolution Clause, Enforcement of a Mediation Clause, Enforcement of an ADR Clause, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Legal Issues, Med-Arb Clauses, Mediation Agreement, Switzerland

(Esprit d’entente)/ /1 Comment

On May 16, 2011, the Swiss Supreme Court confirmed a previous ruling on the content and interpretation of a dispute resolution clause that provided for a conciliation attempt prior to resorting to arbitration (decision No. 4A_46/2011, X GmbH v. Y Sàrl, accessible here in French). The clause at stake was drafted as follows (free translation…

Australia, Evaluative Mediation, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct

(National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council)/ /Leave a comment

When do mediators get to talk to one another? There are of course various conferences. They produce a lot of useful papers and discussions but time is short. Co-mediators get to talk a little but it is usually about the issue at hand. Even mediators who work in a mediation practice are off mediating and…

Confidentiality, Costs in Mediation, EU Mediation Directive, Ireland, Legislation, Mediation Practice, National Mediation Laws

(Sabine Walsh Mediation)/ /Leave a comment

One of the things I value most highly about my mediation practice is the trust that is put in me by the people with whom I work. The parties to a mediation will tell me about their hopes, wishes and fears within a conflict, and will trust me to keep these to myself. It is…

General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.)

(Ministry of Justice, Government of the Republic of Slovenia)/ /Leave a comment

Disputes are like weddings or funerals: they require a serious resolution procedure. As such, mediation procedures have rapidly spread throughout the world. They travel without passport. The rapid evolution of mediation started as a court-annexed or connected procedure, and caused a revolution in the dispute system design of modern civil justice. A multi-door courthouse with…

Due Process, General, Humorous Pieces, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators

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

In my previous life as a blogger, I wrote about things that jumped up and hit me that day, that week, that month – so it is that I report here in my very first post at this most promising blog, that I was not so much hit but lynched when training aspiring mediators here…

General, Humorous Pieces

(Corporate counsel & author)/ /Leave a comment

The first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature was Edith Wharton in 1921, for her novel An Age of Innocence. Addressing what is, and is not, classic, Wharton wrote: A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions … It is classic because of a certain…