mediation mediation_practice mediation_stories

Apologies, Apology, Communication, Cross-cultural, Intuition, Mediation Practice, Nigeria, Scotland, Transformation, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /5 Comments

I have written before on this blog about ‘mediating from the neck up’: my conviction that I was taught (and teach) a rationalistic, even cerebral, process that privileges thought over emotion and language over movement (see http://kluwermediationblog.com/2013/12/13/mediating-from-the-neck-up/ ). As I acknowledged at the time, having this insight and doing something about it are two quite…

Book Review, Causes of Conflict, Clients, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Community Mediation, Conflict, Creativity, Decision making, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Efficiency, Ethics, General, Language, Lawyers, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct, Negotiation, Policy, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Scotland, Skills, Success in mediation, Tips, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

I am interested in convergence – of ideas, of behaviour, of trends, of different disciplines. The more I read, the more common themes I discern in the arts, science, spirituality, leadership and in what we do as mediators. A reflection of this is found in the African concept of ubuntu, “the profound sense that we…

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,…

Communication, Developing the Field, Improvisation, Language, Mediation Practice, Skills

(University of Strathclyde)/ /6 Comments

I’m not often drawn to practical tips. I once discovered that I am an “activist” learner. This apparently means that I learn best when “thrown in at the deep end” and less well when “absorbing and understanding data” (see http://archive.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=152477 for a description of learning styles and http://www.peterhoney.com for a self-evaluation test). It perhaps explains…

Apologies, Clients, Creativity, Developing the Field, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, mediation models, Mediation Practice, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), National Mediation Laws, Regulation, Scotland, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment

Mediation is often portrayed as a useful vehicle for disputes between equals, where parties can be expected to speak for themselves and neither has significant power over the other. Critics, and even supporters, become more sceptical when it comes to less symmetrical situations. Complaints against professionals are one such category. The professional is seen to…

mediation models, Mediation Practice, Understanding mediation

(Esprit d’entente)/ /Leave a comment

After a recent conversation in Singapore with Joel Lee, one of our colleagues from our Blog I had a chance to meet there, I find interesting to briefly mention what is the famous “Fiutak Mediation Circle” that we use as model in our mediation training at Groupement Pro-Mediation (“GPM”) in the French speaking-part of Switzerland…

Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Switzerland

(Esprit d’entente)/ /Leave a comment

Since 1 January 2007, the law governing the criminal status of Youth (youngsters) has introduced the possibility of mediation. In Geneva, the Youth Court may delegate certain matters to mediation pursuant to a “Directive”. Such a process allows the victim and the offender to participate voluntarily and actively in the resolution of the offense or…

Conventional wisdom, Developing the Field, Ethics, Impasse, mediation as a career, Mediation Institutions and Rules, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct, Mentoring, Practical Challenges for Mediators, Stories, Success in mediation, Training, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /6 Comments

Professions (and hence professionals) are both blessed and cursed with high expectations. The upside is clear: the public expects high standards, expertise and care, and in return is prepared to pay handsomely. The downside typically involves disciplinary sanctions against those not measuring up to those standards, although issues of probity rather than competence tend to…

ADR, Communication, Conflict, Dispute Resolution, General, Skills, Training

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /4 Comments

It is often said that listening is one of a mediator’s core skills. At the same time the parties’ ability to listen to each other is equally important. Where parties’ communication has broken down to such an extent that they are unable to really hear what each other is saying, mediators can step in and…

Court Procedure and Litigation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, General, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Lawyers, Legal Issues, Legal Practice, Mediation Lawyering, Mediation Practice, Negotiation

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy)/ /2 Comments

It is a fact of life that lawyers will be involved in many mediations, particularly where they involve litigation matters. Despite initial reluctance to embrace mediation, the tide is turning as Sabine Walsh explains in her posting, Of Turkeys and Christmas – The Role of Lawyers in Mediation. A specialised form of legal practice is…