What's New
GenWhy--A Site for Young International Mediators (5/07/12)
Aik Kramer With its platform Generation Why supports young mediators, and through its website enables them to become more visible. Also, Generation Why wants to facilitate this ‘light community’ of young mediators by organizing various kinds of activities. Generation Why is convinced that in future mediators will fulfill an important role in solving social issues. Peer mediators are, by definition, in step with their generation and can help make complex social conflicts involving youth and young adults manageable again.
Facing Mediation? 5 Strategies (4/22/12)
JoAnne Donner As a mediation coach, my mantra is “Mediation can be one of the most important days of your life. The decisions made that day can affect you and your family for the rest of your lives.”
The Mediator as Healer? (4/17/12)
Nigel Singer I have been a mediator for years, but only recently have I been toying with the idea that my role is a healer. This is a transition for me and an ongoing process. I am working through this concept and how it affects my identity. I also wonder how it changes my approach to my clients.
Persuasion in Mediation: Try Storytelling (4/09/12)
Nancy Hudgins Lawyers who try cases know that telling stories in opening statements and closing arguments is a compelling and persuasive way to influence juries. As Annette Simons in The Story Factor puts it, when you are trying to influence a group, giving them more facts is just piling on more facts. Jurors likely have more facts than they can process well.
Competitive Bargaining Delays 2011-2012 NBA Season (4/09/12)
Michael Finkelstein This article focuses on the positional bargaining tactics employed by the NBA and its players during the league's recent labor dispute. The article explores how highly competitive bargaining led to a mediation impasse and how, by showing that they were unwavering in their position, the NBA pressured its players into accepting an agreement.
Homeowner Mediator Association Primer (4/09/12)
Jim Lingl There is no “right” or “wrong” type of mediation style. Effective mediators can be helpful in almost any setting, regardless of their predominant style. But resolution of different types of dispute can be enhanced by the selection of the best style of mediator to match the participants and the conflict.
Order Or Chaos – What Is Your Preference? (4/02/12)
Bill Marsh I recently came across a new word – new to me, at least, which was irritating because I pride myself on having a pretty good vocabulary. The word is “Chaordic”. To quote Wikipedia, “The portmanteau chaordic refers to a system of governance that blends characteristics of chaos and order”.
Why Is Everyone So Competitive? It’s Not Them, It’s Us! (4/02/12)
Regina Kim Not surprisingly, when a cooperator interacts with another cooperator in conflict, he cooperates with the other to reach an outcome that is beneficial to both of them. And when a competitor interacts with another competitor, she competes against the other to reach an outcome that is most beneficial to her.
Emotional Involvement in a Fairly Legal Resolution (3/16/12)
Alex Dukhovny Emotional involvement is the idea that each party in a conflict has some personal feelings concerning the dispute. As mediators we are taught to remain neutral, thus fundamentally non-emotionally involved. However, the TV series portrays a mediator being so emotional about the disputes she handles that all ethics and dispute resolution practices go out the window. Kate Reed wears many hats, a mediator, a lawyer, a detective and sometimes even a defendant. With her trusty assistant, she is able to not only solve disputes, but as she puts it, “Solve your problems.”
Distinguishing Between Compromising and Collaborating (3/12/12)
Ralph Kilmann People often ask me to clarify the difference between compromising and collaborating, especially since these two modes involve both people getting their needs met. In particular, people often use the word compromise to indicate that they have completely resolved the matter at hand: “We achieved a successful compromise!”
We Each Have Something Different to Offer (3/05/12)
Diane Cohen It is no secret that there are many different approaches to mediation. In the world of mediators, we often classify them as facilitative, evaluative and transformative. Even these labels are unclear and possibly incomplete. Why do we have such vast differences in our approaches? I think one reason is that mediators are “called” to the practice of mediation for different reasons. So, some mediators want to help resolve disputes that are in the court system.
Tips for New Mediators (2/19/12)
Paul Stenzel A mediator who can remember what it was like to be a newer mediator offers some tips for new mediators. It is difficult beginning any career, and mediation offers some unique challenges.
Mediator - Subpoenaed? (2/19/12)
Michael Lang “Mr. Lang, my name is Chris Adams. I am a process server and have some papers for you.” With as much calm as I could muster, I asked, “what sort of papers?” He replied, “a subpoena.” And with that simple telephone conversation, the story begins.
The Reaction Cycle: What Happens When We React? (2/13/12)
Jason Dykstra The other day I came home after a long day of work and put my bag down and said hi to my wife and son. I took off my shoes and my coat and draped it over my bag in the kitchen. The second my coat and shoes were off my wife asked me to take something outside to the garbage.
The Role of Victory and Place in Conflict (2/13/12)
Ann Begler My personal philosophy is that in order to truly perform our work at our best we’re required to be on a constant course of self-reflection and in a process of continual self-growth. Several years ago I embarked on a four-year study program of Integrated Kabbalistic Healing. At the time I wasn’t sure how that course of study would become integrated into the work I do in mediation and conflict resolution. As I’ve moved well beyond that particular training, I’ve found, somewhat to my surprise, that the teachings that began with my training frequently filter through my work deep ways ...
Collaborating: The Most Complex and Least Understood Mode (12/05/11)
Ralph Kilmann Even though collaboration sounds ideal to most people, because it promises a win-win outcome,
it can be used successfully only under the right conditions. There
are more conditions that determine whether the collaborating mode will
achieve its potential than is the case with any other conflict mode.
Collaborative Law: High Energy, Out of the Box Legal Creativity (11/14/11)
Michael A. Zeytoonian The largest annual gathering of Collaborative lawyers and professionals just took place in San Francisco from October 27-30, as the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) held its 12th annual Forum. As always, this Forum was an amazing event, four days of insightful, profound and transformative thought in the legal profession.
Why Don’t More People Use Collaborative Law? (9/12/11)
Michael A. Zeytoonian Lately some of us lawyers who use Collaborative Law (“CL”) in civil disputes other than divorce cases have been brainstorming about the expanded use of CL in employment, business, probate, construction and other areas of law. In the spirit of transparency that is an important element of CL, we’ve focused on why more people don’t use CL to resolve their business or employment or other civil disputes.
Tips for Talking to the Media about Collaborative Practice (8/22/11)
Elizabeth Ferris You have been trained in collaborative practice, you know it can benefit clients and their families and you want to educate the public and attract more clients to your practice. Unfortunately, in your community not enough people know about Collaborative Practice and the value it can provide.
ABA's Public Civility Initiative (5/09/11)
F. Peter Phillips Business people negotiating a private deal are trained to listen to discover their counter-party’s interests, and to devise beneficial options that accommodate them. Yet listening is something one seldom observes in public legislative debate. Adjusting on the basis of what one hears, practically never.
The Value of a Psychologist Mediator (3/21/11)
Ilene Diamond While a retired judge or former trial lawyer-turned-mediator may provide excellent ADR value for large-scale commercial lawsuits, there are many types of disputes in which the client(s) may be better served by a psychologist mediator. This article highlights the unique skills and experience psychologist mediators bring to the mediation table, and provides examples of cases in which a psychologist mediator adds exceptional value.
Collaboration Needed To Improve Health Care Delivery System (2/21/11)
Holly Hayes According to an American Hospital Association (AHA) News report, Don Berwick, M.D., Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, testified on February 10, 2011, at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the impact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will have on Medicare.
Another Situation Calling For Collaborative Law (2/07/11)
Michael A. Zeytoonian Last week, while working essentially in a role of settlement counsel in a business transaction dispute, I came across another situation that highlighted the value of using Collaborative Law (“CL”). Unfortunately, this case was already in litigation, and has already crossed state lines via a change of venue motion which was granted.
10 Things I Hate About Prenuptial Agreements (12/06/10)
Laurie Israel Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for prenuptial agreements in second marriages, especially where there are children of the first marriage. But many of the prenuptial agreements I see are for first marriages and are unfair, badly conceived, and very destructive.
Helping Lawyers Help Clients Make Good Decisions About Dispute Resolution (9/21/10)
John Lande Lawyers face a great challenge in advising clients about what dispute resolution (DR) process to use. There are many DR processes and people are developing new variations all the time. The choice of process can have a huge impact on the parties. Thus it is important for lawyers to give clients good advice about the choice of process, though this is easier said than done.
The Promise and Perils of Collaborative Law (5/21/10)
John Lande Getting people to use an interest-based approach in negotiation has been a difficult problem. Experts have provided helpful suggestions for 'changing the game,' though these ideas are usually limited to case-by-case efforts within a culture of adversarial negotiation. Collaborative law (CL) is an important innovation that establishes a general norm of interest-based negotiation and intentionally develops a new legal culture. CL reverses the traditional presumption that negotiators will use adversarial negotiation.
Chip Rose: Growth of Collaborative Law - Video (4/02/10)
Chip Rose Chip Rose provides a comprehensive overview of how the collaborative law field developed and the tension and frustration experienced along the way between the lawyers and non-lawyers who finally came together a few years ago and agreed upon a mission statement.
Book Review Of Collaborative Divorce Handbook: Helping Families Without Going To Court (9/25/09)
Nan Burnett Forrest S. “Woody” Mosten has been a visionary trailblazer for over 30 years. The first time I heard Woody speak was in Denver in the late 1990’s. The topic was Unbundling Legal Services. I remember thinking, boy is he courageous! I contemplated the resistance he would surely face from the rest of legal community. When you get to know Woody, you quickly discover that he is a champion of the ones who have no voice, the client drowning in conflict; a change agent on a very large scale.
Susan Carpenter: Court v. Conciliation - Video (6/11/09)
Susan Carpenter Susan Carpenter talks about the importance of having both a court system along with conciliation and mediation processes because they both serve a purpose. There are times when people need to go to court to protect their rights and to enforce a law and people also need to be exposed to collaborative approaches so that they can use these models when appropriate.
Confidentiality in Collaborative Cases After Thottam (6/08/09)
Elizabeth Bader The recent case of Estate of Thottam (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 1331, 81 Cal.Rptr. 856, has many mediators and collaborative practitioners worried about confidentiality in California. In Thottam, the Court of Appeal found that a mediator’s confidentiality agreement could reasonably be interpreted as a waiver of confidentiality and opened up a complex probate case to potentially expensive litigation.
Larry Susskind: Two Sources of Resistance to Mediation - Video (3/29/09)
Larry Susskind Larry Susskind speaks of the resistance to mediation as coming from two sources - people of authority and power who want to maintain that authority in addition to people who misconstrue the practice b/c of poor mediation experiences. An example is given of the Interior Department's collaborative processes.
What Collaborative Counsel Does For The Collaborative Client (3/02/09)
Laurie Israel Collaborative law is a form of alternative dispute resolution for divorcing couples who prefer not to endure litigation, but desire vigorous legal representation. One of the first issues of concern for every potential Collaborative Law client is whether the attorney will serve as a strong advocate for that client.
They Started To Fight When The Money Got Tight (12/29/08)
Richard Sharp This article asks must differences over scarce and limited financial resources be determined by divorce court room battles? In answer it suggests that choosing the right method in the beginning could save separating and divorcing couples, time, money and tears in the long term.
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