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Clients, Conflict, Developing the Field, mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Research, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde) and (Mediation Hertfordshire)/ /Leave a comment

Try this thought experiment: imagine a mediator without empathy. How and what would they do? Would there be drawbacks? Benefits? The response to these questions probably depends on our own experience of empathy. This simple yet often misunderstood term masks a complex and fascinating set of ideas about human connection. Because we believe empathy is…

Decision making, Dispute Resolution, lawyers in mediation, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediators’ Conduct, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Stories

(Core Solutions Group)/ /1 Comment

As the year comes to an end, I am expanding upon a story to which I referred in a previous blog, in the hope that it may provide a couple of useful reminders of what we do as mediators. I had eaten a chicken curry rather hastily at the hotel where I had been mediating…

Commercial Mediation, Decision making, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Joint Sessions, Lawyers, lawyers in mediation, mediated settlement agreement, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediators’ Conduct, Negotiation, Promoting Mediation, Scotland, Settlement Agreements, shuttle mediation, Stages of mediation, Success in mediation, Tips, Transformation, Understanding mediation

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

A whole day of mediation without a “joint meeting”. The only time the lawyers met was to begin drafting the settlement agreement. The experts played no part. The day before, the principals had exchanged correspondence deprecating perceived personal insults directed at professional advisers which, it was felt, had damaged reputations. This was a long-running commercial…

Causes of Conflict, Cognitive Bias, Commercial Mediation, Europe, Ireland, Mediation Practice, peace negotiations, Reflective practise, Russia, Scotland

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

I am travelling back from a couple of days in and around Dublin, discussing an initiative on respectful political dialogue with politicians, academics and conflict resolution professionals. It was a privilege to spend time at Glencree, the centre for peace and reconciliation which was one of those places where so much was done in recent…

Developing the Field, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Users/Clients, Skills, Tactics, Tips, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

This post riffs on Elvis Costello’s “What’s So Funny Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?” to probe the usefulness of the words “trust” and “respect” in mediation. Invitation Mediators the world over are taught to invite their clients to speak. We’re not there to tell people what to do; rather to ask them what they want…

Art, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Memory and Illusions, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

It was fifty years ago at the end of May that the Beatles launched the album (or LP as it was then called) “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” on the world – and the world was changed forever. 1967 was quite a year. It was the “Summer of Love”. Revolution was in the air…

Brexit, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediators’ Conduct, Policy, Scotland, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /3 Comments

I am at my desk, an hour after the conclusion of a really fascinating event here in Edinburgh, in which my colleague, Charlie Woods, and I acted as mediators in a simulation of a mediated process involving 10 delegations representing different interests in the current Brexit negotiations. With over 50 participants, allocated randomly to one…

Game Theory, History of mediation, mediation as a career, mediation models, Mediation Practice, mediation process, Mediators’ Conduct, Perception, Philosophy, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Promoting Mediation, Scotland, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

“Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.” These words of Voltaire are as apt today as they were when he wrote them in the 18th century. I don’t know about you but this year seems to be a curious mixture where some people purport to deal in apparent certainties, which…

Clients, Commercial Mediation, Developing the Field, Europe, Future of mediation, General, Mediation Practice, Mediation Reforms (Legislation, etc.), Scotland

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

This blog synthesises some remarks I have made recently to policy-makers in Scotland. As I reflect on things, there are a lot of issues in the civil justice system in my country which remain of interest and concern. Not least, the number of ordinary folk caught up in the court system, paying a lot of…

ADR, EU Directive on Mediation, International Mediation

(Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the Kluwer Mediation Blog’s inaugural summer quiz. We are delighted to announce that the winner is Dr Despina Chatzimanoli, an accredited mediator and Legal Expert at the European Banking Authority in London. Congratulations Despina. The coveted prize is a copy of the very recently published Essays on Mediation,…