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ODR Gaining Traction (5/21/12) Colin Rule Courtroom showdowns make for great movie scenes, but To Kill a Mockingbird’s Atticus Finch would be shocked to hear that the courts are only resolving a fraction of today’s legal disputes. A growing number of cases are being resolved by online tools, and sometimes lawyers and judges are not even involved. Impartial web-based systems apply computation, algorithms and cryptographic technology to bring about resolution quickly and inexpensively.
ODR and Napoleon: World Conquest (4/30/12) F. Peter Phillips No sooner had Colin Rule addressed my students at New York Law School but we met each other again in Washington, DC, where he was on a panel on online dispute resolution at the Annual Meeting of the ABA’s Section on Dispute Resolution. Colin’s seven years with EBay/Paypal, combined with his new start-up Modria, have turned that sparkle in his eye to a glint. He sees the future, does Colin, and it doesn’t include lawyers — or the law.
Online Mediation Simulations via Skype - Video (4/16/12) Virtual Mediation Lab A new pilot project by the Association for Conflict Resolution Hawaii Chapter to show how new and experienced mediators can practice and improve their mediation skills by participating with other mediators in online mediation simulations via Skype.
The Rise of Civil Society (3/26/12) Anna Spain With the Kyoto Protocol expiring at the end of this year, international lawmakers have been gathering to find a productive process for resolving environmental conflict. Their conversations are an example of where international conflict resolution is headed and who the key players will be.
A Little More Conversation (3/26/12) John Sturrock The next two years present Scotland and the rest of the UK with a unique opportunity. How we conduct the discussion of the constitutional question (whether or not Scotland should become an independent nation) could be as important as the outcome.
Conflict Resolution on Pinterest (3/26/12) Colin Rule “Last week another photographer posted a question on Facebook asking if it was okay to pin your own work on Pinterest. I was surprised to see that many of the photographers who commented back admonished those who pin their own work and even cited Pinterest’s suggested rules of etiquette, which apparently discourage self-promotion. That same day, I participated in a thread on Facebook in which some other photographers were complaining about people posting their work on Facebook pages without the photographers’ permission."
The State of Community Mediation (3/19/12) Justin Corbett The National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) has released its much-anticipated new report: The State of Community Mediation. This fieldwide assessment is the most comprehensive in nearly a decade, and includes many never-before reported statistics detailing the size, scope, and impact of the the community practice area.
‘TAKE THIS!’ – Some Darn Good Reasons Mediations Succeed or Fail (3/19/12) Jeffrey Krivis There is a short period of time in any difficult mediation where the tension escalates and tough negotiation decisions have to be made. Some people call this a ‘do or die’ moment. Its like the last vote in the Supreme Court in Gore v. Bush.
Poor Behavior 6: Giving Vague Instructions (3/05/12) Vivian Scott We’re halfway through our list of a Dozen Dirty Behaviors that cause problems at work with #6; giving vauge instructions. What do you think your boss means when she gives you an assignment and then adds, “When you get to it” as part of the instructions?
When it ain’t Easy to Say the Right Thing: How Distance Mediators Help (2/28/12) Susanna Jani “The difference between the right word and the almost right word
is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” (Mark Twain). I wish I’d seen that quote years ago, when I was in the midst of my own separation. In hindsight, I can say without hesitation that many of the discussions I had with my ex about how to reorganize our lives went sideways for no other reason than that I didn’t understand how important my choice of words actually was.
2012: The Move to Online Dispute Resolution (2/13/12) Hon. Arthur Ahalt As a new year begins there is always a clamor to know what is in store for the next 12 months. Some will look at last year and make a string of resolutions and predictions. While I do not pretend to be Carnac the Magnificent of Johnny Carson’s days, here is my take on the trends in 2012 that will shape ADR and ODR.
Attending By Telephone (1/23/12) Phyllis Pollack Although the general consensus among neutrals is that the parties to a dispute should attend the mediation in person, at the same time, I have successfully mediated disputes in which one or more or all involved have attended by telephone. Indeed, I have conducted several mediations solely via telephone with success: the cases settled.
The Link Between Weather and War (1/16/12) Christine Tsai Christine Tsai examines a new whether there is a link between weather and war. She looks at the data to see if there is a correlation between weather patterns and high conflict.
Towards Crowdsourced Online Dispute Resolution, Part 3 (1/01/12) Jaap Van den Herik, Daniel Dimov Using crowdsourcing for solving disputes is a subject that has not been discussed in many scientific publications. However, since Crowdsourced Online Dispute Resolution (CODR) provides a cheap, fast, and democratic dispute resolution, it has a potential that needs to be explored scientifically. How should eBay solve otherwise 60 millions disputes per year? (This is a Part 3 in a 3-part series.)
The Emergence of ODR (12/19/11) Colin Rule The Commission’s proposal represents a bold statement on the need for an accessible, well-designed and integrated system for resolving consumer disputes in the EU. If implemented successfully, it could lead to significant new dispute resolution options and other trust building mechanisms for consumers and traders and, in turn, more consumer-driven economic activity across the EU’s single market.
Teaching Conflict Management Courses: Part 1 (11/21/11) John Wade Professor John Wade takes an honest look at themes and challenges of teaching dispute resolution courses in this 3-part series. He begins by examining the cycles of change and the worldwide themes.
The Joy of Mediating in my P.J.’s: Telephone-based Mediation (11/07/11) Susanna Jani In today’s post our distance mediation team member, the inimitable Ronald Smith, Q.C., describes his own experiences with using the telephone to conduct family mediations. He also shares some of the interesting (and surprising!) lessons he has learned about working with this communication medium:
Conflict In The Healthcare Arena: What Physicians Can Do About It (1/31/11) Ellen Kandell Do you and your partners frequently have difficulty working through strategic planning issues? Is there internal strife between your office manager and the lead nurse? Is the hospital committee you serve on a source of confusion and ambiguity rather than a source of professional pride?
Changing Conflict-Negative Culture (1/31/11) John Crawley To finish my series on applying ‘nudge’ thinking to mediation and effective dispute resolution at work I want to focus on creating a more productive conflict culture in your workplaces.
Introducing the Mediate.com Case Manager (1/18/11) Case Manager We are excited to introduce you to the Mediate.com Case Manager with full information at: www.mediate.com/CaseManager. You can now manage your ADR practice, program, agency or court panel from any computer with web access and automatically get updates and improvements. Mediate.com has developed a cloud-based, leading edge case management system that is now available for Charter Subscription through January 31, 2011.
New Year’s Resolution (1/03/11) John Crawley CMP are resolving to get even better at communicating with you about dispute resolution. On that theme here are some additional ideas for how to promote mediation, continuing from December’s 2010 blog and white paper.
