Business, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Confidentiality, Conflict, conlfict coaching, Conventional wisdom, Decision making, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Efficiency, Future of mediation, General, Impasse, Improvisation, International Mediation, mediation models, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Mediators’ Conduct, Mentoring, Negotiation, Scotland, Skills, Stories, Success in mediation, Tips, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

I write here about two contrasting experiences which have, for me, underscored the richness of the mediation process. In one mediation, involving business partners with an ongoing management issue, one of the protagonists (A) suggested bringing in another partner (D) who was not perceived to be a part of the present problem, simply to observe,…

ADR Agreements, Confidentiality, Enforcement, Med-Arb Clauses, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Set Aside a Mediated Agreement, Settlement Agreements, UNCITRAL Model Law

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /Leave a comment

Earlier this month the Supreme Court of Canada issued its unanimous decision in Union Carbide Canada Inc. v. Bombardier Inc., 2014 SCC 35. The reasons of Mr. Justice Wagner deal with an unfortunate situation in which Bombardier, which had been suing Union Carbide for more than a decade seeking CAN$30 million  related to allegedly defective…

Mediation Institutions and Rules, Opt-In, Opt-Out

(Corporate counsel & author)/ /1 Comment

In his now famous Stanford Commencement Address in June 2005, Steve Jobs remarked: “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life…. [and] to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” One of the choices that we all…

Conflict, Employment, Intuition, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Tips, Truce, Workplace

(First Mediation Corporation)/ /Leave a comment

Whether two employees are fighting or a disgruntled client is on the verge of leaving, you—yes, you—can step in and help solve the problem. Here are some tricks of the trade. Conflict happens. It happens in all areas of business. When your employees spend 40 plus hours together each week, they are bound to run…

ADR, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Domestic Courts, Future of mediation, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Singapore

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /2 Comments

This post seeks to provide readers an update of a recent development in Singapore – the launch of the Primary Justice Project. While the Primary Justice Project does not relate specifically or solely to mediation, its goals are the same: the amicable resolution of disputes. During the State Courts Workplan 2013 (1 March 2013), the…

Bias, Conventional wisdom, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Legal Issues, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /9 Comments

Intellectual life is beset by ‘gap’ problems. Philosophers wrestle with the ‘mind-body problem’: the gap between material and non-material aspects of human existence. All science can be construed as an attempt to bridge the gap between what is and what we can imagine: an inductive corrective to deductive supposition. Roger Cotterrell describes law’s gap problem…

Causes of Conflict, Conflict, crisis negotiatons, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Hong Kong, Mediation Practice, Negotiation, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills, Social intelligence, Tactics, Time Pressure

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /Leave a comment

Next week I am going to interview one of Hong Kong’s leading police negotiators, Dr Gilbert Wong, Commanding Officer of the Police Negotiation Cadre (PNC). When I first emailed with Gilbert, I was struck by the signature line of his email: “Who Cares Wins”. While it could be a mediator’s tagline, it is in fact,…

Australia, Clients, Co-mediation, Commercial Mediation, Conventional wisdom, Future of mediation, General, Improvisation, mediation as a career, mediation models, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Skills, Training, Uncategorized

(Bill Marsh Mediator)/ /Leave a comment

The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was once asked why he continued to practice at the age of 90. “Because” he replied, “I think I’m making progress”. It is an extraordinary acknowledgement from a man widely regarded as one of the greatest ever cellists. Let’s be clear – Casals was a colossus in his world. Fritz…