The X factor in mediation is the ability to influence the other side to pay more or take less. Finding the elusive X factor is the challenge for most mediators, and is often done in the face of uncertainty. This uncertainty takes many forms and can serve as a barrier if not acknowledged and addressed…
On emerging from a rather taxing meeting a phrase popped into my mind which has done so regularly since I started mediating. It runs “a soft answer turns away wrath” and it is to be found in the biblical book of Proverbs. It will resonate with anyone faced with hostility: anger can be contained by…
The Singapore Mediation Lecture 2014 was delivered on 26 September 2014 by Mr. Brad Berenson, the Vice President and Senior Counsel for Litigation and Legal Policy of General Electric. The third lecture in this series, the Singapore Mediation Lecture is a result of a partnership between the Singapore Mediation Centre, the Singapore Management University School…
Hong Kong mediator, lawyer and poet, TK Iu, was introduced to readers by fellow blogger Joel Lee earlier this year. TK’s first published poetic piece on mediation was entitled, ‘A Mediator’s Prayer’, inspired by the Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. If you missed it, it’s well worth the read. In just a few…
I. Introduction The mediation of insurance and risk transfer disputes involves interpretation of contracts and insurance policies, challenging legal issues, and the interests of multiple stakeholders. Such mediations are not just a matter of exchanging numbers. For parties, how do you advocate your position while, at the same time, exploring settlement? For a mediator, how…
Never one to turn down the opportunity to try out new technological developments, I was interested to come across software designed to assist in formulating parenting plans earlier this year. This may sound rather “out there” to many mediators, so bear with me while I try to set out how it works and how I…
In the world of international mediation, global providers such as ICC, WIPO and AAA/ICDR dominate the landscape together with various more regionally based institutions such as HKIAC, SMC and CEDR. Of course, parties who choose to resolve cross-border disputes by way of mediation are free to develop their own bespoke rules of engagement as they might in their domestic mediations…
In their article, “The Collaboration Imperative” [Harvard Business Review, April 2014, p. 77], authors Nidumolu, Ellison, Whalen and Billman note that “business collaboration is the great oxymoron of corporate sustainability. Countless efforts by companies to work together to tackle the most complex challenges facing our world today – including climate change, resource depletion, and ecosystem…
I believe that by now you all had enough of my comments on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. So let’s move on to other aspects of life. Last month, IBA’s Mediation Committee organized a regional meeting in Brazil in order to discuss the latest trends in Commercial Mediation. The event was supported by Veirano Law…
Co-authored by Deborah Masucci and Michael Leathes, International Mediation Institute Among the early words of wisdom expressed by Sherlock Holmes in the first of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 56 novels, A Scandal in Bohemia in 1891, was this classic line: I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly…
