Concerted Action Includes Concerted Dispute Resolution (4/12/13) Beth Graham As interpreted by the Supreme Court, the Federal Arbitration Act has largely swept all before it, validating agreements to arbitrate almost all disputes, including those involving claims under statutes regulating the employment relation. That era may be nearing an end.
Different Approaches, Same Service – Mediation (4/01/13) Constantin-Adi Gavrila There are a variety of approaches and disagreements about mediation trainings. If we keep an open mind, each angle will offer us a different perspective, even if those perspectives may be completely opposite.
Cost of Small Claims Court vs. Mediation (3/08/13) Lance Soskin When people are faced with a dispute, they often must decide if they would prefer to proceed in Small Claims Court or in Mediation. This article helps people evaluate the time and money required for an average Small Claims suit. 2 Comments
The Art of Mediation in the Real World (2/22/13) Don Cripe This mediator gives examples from his life about his mediation style. He discusses mediation techniques that have been successful for him and reflects on the practices he has seen.
Workplace Conflict Training - Video (1/02/13) Fighting Fair This workplace mediation training video demonstrates the mediation process and conflict resolution steps to resolve disputes in the workplace.
Can Games Really Change the Course of History? (12/27/12) Larry Susskind There are various ways games can be used to inform, and even alter, high-stakes policy negotiations. I'm going to describe several of them below, but this only works when the actual negotiators take part in the game in advance of undertaking their own "real life" interactions.
Making Mediators More Stupid (11/05/12) Michael Jacobs Much of current mediation training is consciously ‘additive’, in that it puts forward various frameworks, theories and models. This article argues, only partially tongue-in-cheek, that training mediators is fundamentally ‘subtractive’. That in order to be effective, trainee mediators need to unlearn much of what they think they already know. The article refers to this process of unlearning as becoming ‘more stupid’.
Teaching Videos in Mediation Training: Why Use Them and How To Do it Well (9/21/12) Robert Smith Teaching videos are commonly used in mediation and ADR classes in law schools as a supplementary teaching method to live role play simulations, but not typically employed in community mediation trainings, which rely on live demonstrations and role plays. The author advocates for increased use of teaching videos in community mediation training, explores the advantages and disadvantages of video compared to live role plays, and presents effective teaching techniques for using videos.
Young Mediators (8/12/12) William Keller This article is intended to bring awareness to all mediators about the struggles that young mediators encounter. Do young mediators have the skills and work ethic to handle the most intense cases?. 3 Comments
Since I heal people, I might as well be a heart surgeon. (6/25/12) Clare Fowler One thing that I have noticed from watching Fairly Legal is that Kate Reed is so effective at her job, not just because the skills come naturally to her, but also because she is very comfortable with the process. She doesn't have to waste time thinking about when to consult an expert, what constitutes as legal advice, what is a break of confidentiality, what is an enforceable agreement, and what are the parties real interests. This shows me that she has years of training and practice which, combined with her natural skills, have created a very effective (albeit slightly wacky) mediator.
An Experiential Exercise to Dramatize the Five Modes (5/14/12) Ralph Kilmann Several decades ago, I developed an experiential exercise for classroom and workshop settings in order to accelerate people’s understanding and internalization of the five modes (Competing, Avoiding, Collaborating, etc.). This articles walks readers through that example, and also provides insights for instructors as to why different parts of the exercise works. 1 Comment
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.
Looking Behind the Curtain (3/12/12) Roger C. Benson Mediation training has developed ad hoc over the last few decades. As the field begins to get a foothold in the legal industry, however, it is important to be intentional about what should be necessary in training a mediator. The author suggests some topics that should remain, points out some topics that are often inadvertently left-out of many trainings, and invites suggestions for additional topics.
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.
SCMA's 23rd Annual Conference (10/24/11) Phyllis Pollack The conference itself, on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at the Strauss Institute of Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University’s Law School in Malibu, includes sessions exploring the many different aspects of mediation: international, intercultural, transformative, ombudsman, online and even conflict coaching. By the end of the day, we will have all learned how pervasive mediation can be in our everyday lives.
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.
Stulberg, Joe: Teaching Conflict Resolution - Video (11/28/10) Joseph Stulberg Joe Stulberg emphasizes his love of teaching and notes that the teaching methods used in conflict resolution and mediation trainings are innovative techniques within the field of pedagogy.
