All posts by John Lande

More Ways to Help Students Understand Dispute Resolution Practice

I developed a variety of assignments that faculty can use to help students better understand mediation, advocacy in mediation, negotiation, or other regular procedures. The assignments grow out of my article, Real Mediation Systems to Help Parties and Mediators Achieve Their Goals in the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution. You might assign students to read … Continue reading More Ways to Help Students Understand Dispute Resolution Practice →

Seeking Resources to Promote Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation

7 Comments

My post, The Critical Importance of Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation, really resonated for some people. Clearly, pre-session preparation can help everyone involved in mediation to improve the process and outcomes.  Many mediators and mediation programs routinely incorporate robust pre-session procedures in their mediation systems. Roselle Wissler and Art Hinshaw’s empirical study provides some good news … Continue reading Seeking Resources to Promote Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation →

Real Practice Systems Project

The Real Practice Systems (RPS) Project grew out of dissatisfaction with traditional mediation theories, which are incomplete and misleading.  I  first articulated RPS Theory in my 2023 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution article, Real Mediation Systems to Help Parties and Mediators Achieve Their Goals.  It identifies problems with traditional mediation theories, argues that dispute system … Continue reading Real Practice Systems Project →

The Critical Importance of Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation

1 Comment

It’s indisputable that preparation before mediation sessions is very important – both for the participants and the mediators.  This can make a huge difference in the process and outcome. Parties (and their lawyers, if any) need to be prepared to discuss the facts, law, interests, and/or negotiation approaches etc.  This is hard enough when they … Continue reading The Critical Importance of Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation →

Using Real Practice Systems Resources in Practice

This post describes how mediators can use ideas and materials from the Real Practice Systems Project to better understand and improve their own mediation systems.  Mediators’ practice systems are the combination of factors affecting what they do before, during, and after mediation sessions.  These systems include their routine procedures and strategies for dealing with recurring … Continue reading Using Real Practice Systems Resources in Practice →

Resources for Using Real Practice Systems Materials in Teaching

This post describes how faculty can use ideas and materials from the Real Practice Systems Project to help students get realistic understandings of practice.  I initially focused on mediation systems, which are the combination of factors affecting what mediators do before, during, and after mediation sessions.  These systems include their routine procedures and strategies for … Continue reading Resources for Using Real Practice Systems Materials in Teaching →

Suggestions for Dying (and Living)

2 Comments

I don’t fear death.  I do fear dying, however. Modern medicine can perform seeming miracles in some situations.  But it also can ensnare patients in a tangle of cords, tubes, machines, personnel with varying degrees of sympathy and helpfulness, rigid procedures and schedules, being jabbed by sharp needles, sounds, lights, sleep disruptions, disturbances, loss of … Continue reading Suggestions for Dying (and Living) →

Ten Real Mediation Systems

This short article presents accounts of ten mediators about the factors affecting how we handle continuing streams of mediations – our mediation systems.  These systems are the combination of factors affecting what mediators do before, during, and after mediation sessions.  The systems include their routine procedures and strategies for dealing with recurring challenging situations. The … Continue reading Ten Real Mediation Systems →

Shifting the Central Paradigm to Dispute System Design

There is no good definition of ADR, as described in a recent post. This post suggests that it’s time for a paradigm shift in our field.  Instead of identifying our field as ADR, we should use dispute system design (DSD) as our central theoretical framework. Time for a Paradigm Shift Thomas S. Kuhn’s classic book, … Continue reading Shifting the Central Paradigm to Dispute System Design →

Houston, We Have a Problem in the Dispute Resolution Field

1 Comment

If two rocket scientists don’t correctly understand each other’s jargon, things could blow up real fast.  If laypeople don’t understand the scientists, however, no problem. It’s quite different in the dispute resolution field.  Parties are supposed to actively participate in mediation (and other dispute resolution processes to some extent), and thus they need to understand … Continue reading Houston, We Have a Problem in the Dispute Resolution Field →