Book Review, Business, Clients, Communication, Conflict, Conventional wisdom, Dispute Resolution, Efficiency, Future of mediation, General, Lawyers, Lawyers and Psychologists, Legal Practice, Litigation, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Mediators’ Conduct, Negotiation, Neuroscience, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Skills, Social intelligence, Status, Transformation, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

I have been reflecting recently on the individual and collective professional journeys we all undertake – and on the different stages we reach. My reading has taken me to a thought-provoking book by theologian Richard Rohr, entitled Falling Upward. Rohr’s thesis, put very simply, is that there are two stages to life. The first, necessary,…

Business, Commercial Mediation, Corporate Counsel's View, Efficiency

(Mediar360 - Dispute Resolution )/ /Leave a comment

I have heard the title of today’s post during CPR’s Business Mediation Congress , which took place last week in Brazil. It couldn’t be more correct: companies should not be in the litigation business, but in the business of doing business. With vast participation from different segments of the local business community, two important topics…

ADR, Developing the Field, EU Mediation Directive, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Online Mediation

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The UK’s Civil Justice Council has recently reported (http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/civil-justice-council-explores-online-dispute-resolution/5040975.article) on an initiative to promote online dispute resolution, through setting up an Advisory Group. Heading that group is Dr Richard Susskind, one the strongest promoters of ODR and of the role information communication technology (ICT) in the practice of law. In line with the EU’s Directive…

Causes of Conflict, Commercial Mediation, Conventional wisdom, Humorous Pieces, Stories, Tactics, Uncategorized

(Weiler ADR Inc.)/ /3 Comments

Story telling and humor are among the essential tools in any mediator’s kit. Of course, when it comes to humor, mediators learn early in their career that the self-deprecating variety is usually the safest choice. This turns out to be quite good for me since in my life there is no shortage of material to…

Uncategorized

(International Mediation Institute)/ /Leave a comment

In February 2014, the Litigation and Arbitration Practice of international law firm Hogan Lovells announced the findings of a survey they conducted among 146 senior lawyers and executives from among the world’s largest companies in 18 industries to assess how cross border disputes have affected the legal landscape. The survey’s findings reveal some interesting perspectives,…

ADR, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Domestic Courts, Due Process, Efficiency, EU Directive on Mediation, EU Mediation Directive, Europe, European Law, Future of mediation, General, Governments/Public Sector, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), harmonisation of mediation law, International Mediation, Lawyers, Legislation, Litigation, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Mediation Users/Clients, National Mediation Laws, Public Policy, Uncategorized

(ADR Center)/ /Leave a comment

The recent publication of a study conducted for the European Parliament on Mediation, “Rebooting the Mediation Directive,” has contributed to the ongoing debate about effective mediation policy. I am the coordinator of that Study, whose results were based on 816 questionnaires completed by respondents from the 28 member states of the EU. The Study determined…

Arbitration, Decision making, General, International Mediation, Med-Arb Clauses, Mediation Practice, Mediation Users/Clients, Policy, Public Policy, Reform, Settlement Agreements

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /1 Comment

How do you get people to eat more fruit and less junk food? How do you get more people to agree to donate their organs? How do you get more people to engage in cross-border mediation? I’ll come back to food and organs shortly. Let’s stay with mediation for a minute. Within Asia, Hong Kong,…

Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Negotiation

(National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

Author’s Note: For those readers who do not speak or read Chinese, the words and numbers in brackets indicate how to pronounce and intonate the Chinese characters indicated I was recently given the honour of launching 谈判 (Tan2 Pan4): The Chinese-English Journal on Negotiation at the 3rd Asian Mediation Association Conference held in Hong Kong…

Developing the Field, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), India, mediation as a career, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment

Lots of talk about ADR competitions on this blog, so I’ll throw my hat in the ring. Last month I took a team of students to the INADR International Law Student Mediation Tournament in Chicago (http://www.inadr.org/tournaments/law-school-tournament). This was the 13th competition and it was truly international, with 52 teams representing 17 US institutions and 22…