Offices of Richard Lutringer, Esq.

International Mediation Developments - May 2013 (5/16/13)
Keith Seat
This is another in a series of articles on international mediation updates by Mediate.com News Editor, Keith Seat.

Arbitration and the Power Sector in Brazil (5/10/13)
Gilberto Giusti
One of the segments of the infrastructure sectors in Brazil that have lately triggered the greatest amount of disputes are the power generation, distribution and trading sectors. In effect, there’s little disagreement in Brazil nowadays that, just as with other sectors that could also be mentioned here (such as oil and gas, sanitation, ports, etc.), in the power sector in general the arbitrators and the lawyers defending the interests of the litigants must have expertise in or at least deeper technical knowledge of the matter in controversy, namely as a result of the complex regulations that followed the introduction of the new regulatory framework for the Brazilian power sector through Law No. 10,847 and Law No. 10,848 of 15 March 2004.

Arbitration in India (5/10/13)
F. Peter Phillips
In this research paper I will analyze and comment on India’s arbitration and jurisprudence from pre-colonization to post-colonization in 1947. In Part I, I will briefly discuss the goal and purpose of arbitration, for those who are unfamiliar with them, and I will delve into the history of India’s arbitration, including the major legislative acts and arbitration institutions.

Online Dispute Resolution Theory & Practice - Chapter 10: ODR and Culture (4/13/13)
Daniel Rainey
This chapter begins with some basic definitions of culture, then address the relationship between ODR technology and culture, and finally offers observations about what may be the short term future of intercultural exchanges mediated by online dispute resolution tools.

Empathy is the Secret Weapon (4/12/13)
Jeff Thompson
Having the ability to combat hate requires skills that are also necessary of mediators and other conflict professionals.  One such skill is empathy. It is important to note empathy does not require agreeing but more importantly it gives you insight as you move from the way you “see” things to “see” the situation or issue from a different perspective. 

What Does the Fortune 1,000 Survey Portend for International Mediation? (4/02/13)
Tom Stipanowich
A new study of dispute resolution practices in Fortune 1,000 corporations shows that many large companies are using binding arbitration less often and relying more on mediated negotiation and other approaches aimed at resolving disputes informally, quickly and inexpensively.

Liability of Counsel in International Arbitration: Any Changes? (3/29/13)
Lisa Bench Nieuwveld
A week ago today, it was my privilege to participate in the annual UNCITRAL/VIAC/YAAP Joint Conference, addressing hot topics in international arbitration. The conference successfully considered many key topics, including my topic, liability of counsel in international arbitrations. This topic, similar to my recent book topic (Kluwer Law International, Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration), is receiving a lot of attention with limited actual changes.

A New Scotland Can Be Built on Civil Discourse (3/22/13)
John Sturrock
Scotland is at a crossroads. As a nation, we face momentous choices. How we go about discussing them, and making them, may well determine how we work together in the future.

ODR Theory and Practice - Chapter 6: Establishing a Global ODR System for Cross-Border Online Transactions for the Sale of Goods (3/16/13)
Vikki Rogers
For the last couple of decades, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) experts have been creating protocols, standards and agreements for the creation of ODR systems that could resolve low-value disputes that extend beyond regional borders. To the dismay of many in this community, these various efforts never manifested into a wide-spread program offering redress to parties engaged in cross-border commercial activity.

What Does the Fortune 1,000 Survey on Mediation, Arbitration and Conflict Management Portend for International Arbitration? (3/15/13)
Tom Stipanowich
A new study of dispute resolution practices in Fortune 1,000 corporations shows that many large companies are using binding arbitration less often and relying more on mediated negotiation and other approaches aimed at resolving disputes informally, quickly and inexpensively.

ODR Theory and Practice - Chapter 5: Mobiles and ODR: Why We Should Care (3/12/13)
Sanjana Hattotuwa
This chapter explores the importance of mobile smart phones. The mobile phone is to many in the world their first PC. Mobiles today are more capable than average PCs were a few years ago. They are more pervasive, affordable and utilitarian and revolutionizing both ODR and ADR.

SPECIAL: Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice - Forward, Introduction & Chapter 1 (2/26/13)
Ethan Katsh, Daniel Rainey, Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Richard Susskind
As a service to ADR and ODR fields, Mediate.com is honored to make the book "Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice" by Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Ethan Katsh and Daniel Rainey ( Eds.) available through Mediate.com. The book's twenty four chapters will be made available during the next twenty four weeks. We here begin with the Forward, Introduction and First Chapter of "Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice."

Using Interpreters in Mediation (2/25/13)
Bernard Nguyen
Most veteran mediators and advocates support having a mediator or co-mediator who is competent in the cultures and languages of the disputants. Having a bi-lingual mediator who possesses cultural competency, understands gender sensitivities and is knowledgeable in the subject matter of the dispute is valuable in many cases.

International and U.S. Arbitration from a Business Perspective: The Importance of the Arbitration Clause (2/15/13)
Gerry DeNotto
This article promotes the use of arbitration by business to resolve disputes as a flexible, cost effective process, in contrast to the public court system. The author’s International and U.S. arbitration experience is shared to demonstrate how a business-minded arbitration clause will result in a better managed dispute resolution process that business can relate to.

Accountants Not Entitled to Assert Legal Advice Privilege (2/15/13)
Shaun Lee
The High Court reaffirmed the proposition that legal professional privilege does not apply, at common law, in relation to any professional other than a qualified lawyer, that is, a solicitor or barrister, or an appropriately qualified foreign lawyer. Accordingly, even though a claims consultant firm may be staffed by legally trained employees, any advice rendered by the firm, including advice that is legal in nature will not be protected by legal advice privilege.

The World's Next Top Mediation Model (2/15/13)
Dan Simon
I estimate it took me 5 years of trying until I fully embraced the transformative perspective. I had started out mediating by assuming my job was to uncover underlying interests, then help both sides figure out how to get as much of what they wanted as possible, and help them accept that they couldn’t get everything they wanted. When I started mediating, I saw hostility and distrust between the parties as impediments to a solution, but they didn’t hold much interest beyond that.

Standing on the Shoulders of a Visionary (2/08/13)
Jacques Joubert
The article is about Mary Parker Follet’s convergence of dispute resolution, organisational development and leadership concepts. Follet integrated the idea of organisational conflict into management theory and is sometimes considered the "mother of conflict resolution." Peter Drucker called her the “prophet of management.” Drucker himself is acknowledged as a pioneer in organisational development and modern management thinking.

Initiatives and Innovations for Effective, Court-Mandated Mediation (2/01/13)
Uma Ramanathan
Mediation attempts to use persuasion as the main tool for resolution. It is said that a Professor of Medicine taught his students to touch the patient while listening to them instead of standing by the bed. By standing near the bed, he felt that the patient would get the impression that the doctor wanted to move away, but by touching the patient, the doctor revealed special concern. Persuasive listening is said to be concerned listening as opposed to mere listening.

What’s so Bad about Bias? Mediation and Sustainable Peace (1/25/13)
Kyong Mazzaro
In September 2012, the United Nations published a general Guidance for mediators working at the international, national and local levels, which identifies eight fundamentals of an effective mediation process: preparedness, consent, impartiality, inclusivity, national ownership, international law and normative frameworks, coherence, coordination and complementarity among mediation efforts, and the development of quality peace agreements.

International Mediation Developments (1/03/13)
Keith Seat
Here is another in a series of updates on international mediation developments from Keith Seat, Mediate.com News Editor.

Need for Enhancement of Standards in Mediation Practice (12/08/12)
Uma Ramanathan
This article is a summary of the keynote speech presented at India's National Conference on Mediation. It provides a synopsis of the current state of mediation in India, as well as a statement of the future of mediation.

Insecurity in Nigeria: Focus on the Family (11/30/12)
Mary Aderibigbe
The society goes by the people in it. Strong, healthy families ensue when the needs of its members are met, making for the building of a strong and progressive society. The state of the family institution is a major index to the determination of the condition in the society. This article discusses how mediation can strengthen the basic family units.

The President Is A Mediator & Publicly Endorses It (11/30/12)
Jeff Thompson
Yes, with the title I deserve to be writing headlines for the NY Post, and no, I am not lying I'm just referring to the President of India. People on the Greater New York area dispute resolution community listserv recently had a great discussion on the media's lack of knowledge between the difference of mediation and arbitration.

Arbitrating in China – What Interim Measures are Available from the Courts? (11/26/12)
Stuart Dutson
The recent revisions to the Chinese Civil Procedure Law (the “CPL”) made some significant amendments to the arbitration law in China. In particular, the new CPL for the first time provides for pre-arbitration preservation measures to be available from the Chinese courts. The revisions will come into force on January 1, 2013.

Recent Arbitration Developments in the Middle East (11/16/12)
Herbert Smith
There have been three recent developments in the sphere of arbitration in the GCC. The first two relate to the validity of arbitration agreements as ruled on by the highest courts in Dubai and Kuwait. The third development relates to the long running concern over the recognition of the choice of international arbitration by the DIFC courts.

International Mediation Developments (11/13/12)
Keith Seat
Here is another in a series of updates on the international development of mediation from Mediate.com News Editor, Keith Seat.

When Common Crime Mirrors War: Untangling the Roots of Social Violence (11/12/12)
Kyong Mazzaro
According to the World Health Organization, in 2004 there were 182,000 war related deaths and 598,000 deaths due to interpersonal violence. In other words, deaths related to common crime were almost 3 times more recurrent than war casualties, yet social violence is studied more in the field of criminology and less in the conflict and development literature.

CIETAC Administered Arbitrations: Internal Conflicts Cause Uncertainty (11/10/12)
Peter Bert
Disputes between the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) and its sub-commissions in Shanghai (“CIETAC Shanghai”) and Shenzhen (“CIETAC South China”) currently cause significant legal uncertainty. These internal issues at CIETAC create risks for parties that have agreed arbitration proceedings with these local sub-commissions in their contracts, or are planning to do so.

Mandatory Mediation under Threat in Italy (11/05/12)
Matthew Rushton
Parallel with Italy’s supreme court (the Court of Cassation), the Constitutional Court is the highest court and there is no avenue of appeal. While some have interpreted the ruling as the end of mandatory mediation in Italy, others believe that it is too soon to judge.

Recognition of International Arbitration in Ukraine in Figures (10/26/12)
Konstantin Pilikov
Arbitration practitioners often put Ukraine below the average ranking of countries in terms of recognition of arbitration. Ukraine’s image of a not-entirely arbitration-friendly jurisdiction is “promoted” because of problematic enforcement of arbitral awards in Ukraine. However, in recent years the Ukrainian legal system demonstrated significant progress in adherence to the arbitration-friendly approach.

UN Guide for Effective Mediation - Video (10/23/12)
United Nations
With armed conflicts trending upward again and proving increasingly complex, the challenges are also mounting for mediators working to resolve them through negotiations. Newly developed guidance from the United Nations can help them to succeed, providing practical advice for navigating mediation processes effectively. This video describes the 8 UN fundamental guidelines.

Online Mediation in Dubai (10/19/12)
Colin Rule
The importance of mediation lies in the fact that it is a confidential process and comes at a low cost as compared to litigation. It focuses on the interests of both parties and is a much less aggressive process than litigation/arbitration thus offering a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Negotiating with Terrorists (10/12/12)
Michael Pollack
Everyone says you should never negotiate with terrorists. But everyone does it when there is no other feasible or reasonable alternative. The argument against such negotiation is that it will only encourage more terrorism. But history does not support this theory.

Peace (10/12/12)
Joe Markowitz
However shaky the European Union is today, whatever its deficiencies, it still deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, for its contributions to peace over decades.

Eleventh Circuit Determines That Some But Not Claims Must Be Arbitrated (10/12/12)
Louis Solomon
Jane Doe v. Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd., No. 10-10809 (11th Cir. 2011), addresses the important necessity of careful corporate drafting of international arbitration provisions, a topic we have posted on in the past.

Swiss Parliament Initiates Review Process of the Swiss Arbitration Law (10/12/12)
Matthias Scherer
On 27 September 2012, the Swiss Parliament adopted a motion that had been introduced earlier this year tasking the Government to prepare a report on the Swiss Arbitration Law (chapter 12 of the Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA)). The objective of the report is to further enhance the attractiveness of Switzerland as a place of arbitration.

New Survey on International Arbitration — The Users’ Perspective (10/06/12)
F. Peter Phillips
GE Oil & Gas attorney Michael McIlwrath has brought our attention to the recently released 2012 International Arbitration Survey: Current and Preferred Practices in the Arbitral Process. This study, conducted by the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary, University of London, and the firm of White & Case LLP, notes how international arbitration is actually practiced, and points to what practices might be preferred.

Pieter Sanders, 1912-2012 (10/02/12)
DeVries Gwen
It is with great sadness that we at Kluwer received the news of Pieter Sanders’ death. As the founder and inaugural editor of the ICCA Publications,

Moral Exclusion at the Workplace: When Differences in Values Lead to Abusive Supervision (10/02/12)
Regina Kim
Whenever there is an international or inter-ethnic conflict, whether it’s in the form of a war, invasion, exploitation, or terrorism, we often hear about the phenomenon of moral exclusion (Opotow, 1990).

UN Launches Guidance to Ensure Effective Conflict Mediation (10/02/12)
Jeff Thompson
“This Guidance is a relevant reference document not just for mediators but for all actors involved in mediation,” Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said at the high-level launch held in New York City on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 67th session of the General Assembly.