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Business, Causes of Conflict, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Conflict, Costs in Mediation, Decision making, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, General, Improvisation, Interests, Joint Sessions, Mediation Agreement, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, Mediators’ Conduct, Negotiation, Neuroscience, Scotland, Skills, Sport, Stories, Success in mediation, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /6 Comments

As 2014 comes to an end, it is good to reflect. How privileged many of us are. I often remark to others that my “job” is better than “real work”. What do I mean when I say that? As mediators, we have an extraordinary window through which we view life, other people and what happens…

Conflict, Developing the Field, Family Mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation Practice, Skills, Stories, Tips, Uncategorized, Understanding mediation

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment

(This is the first of three parts of a keynote address to the YMCA Conference “From Reactions to Relations” in Burton on Trent on 20 November 2014) Here’s an interesting phenomenon. When asked to play the part of an adversarial lawyer students have no difficulty. It’s as if the script for this activity is carved…

ADR, Business, Commercial Mediation, Communication, Deal Mediation, Dispute Resolution, Efficiency, Evaluative Mediation, Impasse, Improvisation, Lawyers, Mediation Practice, mediation traditions, Negotiation, Neutrality, Scotland, Skills, Stages of mediation, Stories, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /Leave a comment

I have never been a great fan of mediator’s proposals. I took the view that the mediator’s job, done well, was to help the parties to come to a solution themselves. Party autonomy and all that. Achieving a satisfactory outcome, I thought, shouldn’t require a specific suggestion by the mediator. I have changed my view….

ADR, Clients, Communication, Developing the Field, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Online Mediation, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

Many of us have been hearing about Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) for years but haven’t quite got round to using it. It sounds like a nice idea when face-to-face mediation isn’t an option through distance and/or cost. And yet I suspect that for most mediators the ‘gold standard’ is being in the same room as…

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,…

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…

Conflict, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), mediation as a career, Mediation Practice, Mediation Schemes (In Courts, etc.), Mentoring, Scotland, Skills, Training, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

Another new mediation venture in Scotland: last week saw the launch of University of Strathclyde Mediation Clinic (http://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/lawschool/mediationclinic/ ). While by no means a new idea, it’s the first in this jurisdiction. The response took us by surprise. We were graced with the presence of the University’s Principal, a judge, lawyers, sponsors, advice agencies, academics…

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…

Causes of Conflict, Conflict, conlfict coaching, Developing the Field, International Mediation, Mediation Practice, Neuroscience, peace negotiations, Uncategorized

(University of Strathclyde)/ /2 Comments

Last Sunday in Edinburgh I took part in a panel on the subject of Intractable Conflict. The principal speaker was Oliver Ramsbotham, Emeritus Professor of Conflict Resolution at the University of Bradford, and author of ‘Transforming Violent Conflict: Radical Disagreement, Dialogue and Survival’ (Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2010). He described a familiar, if depressing, phenomenon in…