Insights

Make use of your mediator....before the mediation day

You may have spent some time choosing your mediator, perhaps debating with the other side over who is to mediate your dispute.  The process may have been difficult and drawn out.  But you have got there… you now have your mediator.

64 terabytes of pure empathy

The History Of Technology In Mediation Services

Let go of the client....

One of the most important skills of a good mediator is identifying at the mediation who should meet whom and when. Should there be a plenary meeting, a meeting of lawyers alone, of experts, with or without instructing solicitors? Or a meeting between clients, unsupported by legal teams?

Mediation - achieving the impossible!

Where is the decision-maker....?

Every mediator carries a mental checklist: things to confirm before any mediation gets underway.

How to....do away with a mediation summary (and why) - Rebecca Clark believes there may be better ways to begin proceedings

Whether you call them mediation statements, summaries or position papers – as a client-user of mediation turned mediator, I remain confused about the purpose of a mediation summary. Often, this ill-defined document will comprise a précis of the written pleadings, a section on why that party i...

Know your opponent (KYO)

The better informed a party is on the way into a mediation, not just about the merits of a case, but about his or her opponent, the more likely it is that a good deal, as opposed to one that is just about acceptable, will be secured.

Resolving business disputes early - so that they don’t escalate into full-blown litigation

In his second blog post Andrew explores how mediation can be used to stop issues becoming disputes and disputes becoming litigation.

ADR and Civil Justice: The Civil Justice Council’s ADR Working Group Final Report

The CJC ADR Working Group published its much-anticipated Final Report on ADR last week.  This Report is the result of over two years’ work in reviewing the existing forms of encouragement for mediation (and other suitable forms of ADR) and to consider how further use of ADR (excluding arbitra...

Referenda, First-Past-the-Post Parliamentary Democracy and the WATNA, BATNA and NATNA - a True Story

Recently I mediated with German and UK joint venture partners.  The German company had notified termination of the joint venture and the UK party wanted substantial compensation or ideally to cancel the termination and continue the joint venture.  (Sound familiar?!)  The German CEO flew in to...

“And so it is with great pleasure that I present to you…”

For those with a penchant for crime dramas, or even those just thoroughly fed up with dealing with the other side’s legal team, the temptation to present a killer fact or piece of evidence at an opening session can be huge. Whilst this may be temporarily satisfying, it misses a key point of me...

Resolving Family Business Disputes: Is There a Better Way?

because a different sort of personal relationship exists in a partnership or a family business