All posts by Nancy Welsh

Call for Papers: International Mediation

  For anyone who’s interested in writing about international or comparative mediation, you should be aware of the following opportunity:  Call for Papers International Mediation Leadership Summit The Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association, in collaboration with AAA International Centre for Dispute Resolution, ACB Group-Netherlands, ADR Center-Rome, CEDR, CMAP, International Academy of Mediators, … Continue reading Call for Papers: International Mediation →

International Effort to Certify Mediators

While certification and ethics for mediators continue to be hotly debated in the U.S., a new organization has come on the scene with the goal of offering a certification that will be accepted as the global mediator competency standard. International Mediation Institute (“IMI”) was created by the Netherlands Mediation Institute, Singapore Mediation Centre/Singapore International Arbitration … Continue reading International Effort to Certify Mediators →

Dispute Resolution in the Year 2050 (Or Maybe Just 2025)

As the Chair-Elect of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), I’m responsible for organizing the Section’s workshop for its annual meeting in January, 2009. I’ve had the good fortune to work with a wonderful group of colleagues (including my fellow bloggers) on this project. We’ve decided on a … Continue reading Dispute Resolution in the Year 2050 (Or Maybe Just 2025) →

Repeat Players’ Expectations Regarding Private Civil, Non-Family Mediation

Lawyers, insurance industry managers, risk managers and human resource managers who make frequent use of private mediation increasingly expect mediators to: Prepare for mediation sessions, which includes holding pre-mediation discussions with counsel (also increasing the likelihood that counsel will be prepared); Permit counsel to have pre-mediation input into the mediation process itself, especially regarding the … Continue reading Repeat Players’ Expectations Regarding Private Civil, Non-Family Mediation →

Customers’ Perceptions of (Un)fairness in Securities Arbitration

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Professors Jill Gross and Barbara Black recently submitted Perceptions of Fairness of Securities Arbitration: An Empirical Study to the Securities Industry Conference on Arbitration.  The study is based on survey responses received from customers (comprising approximately 45% of those responding), corporate representatives of securities brokerage firms and persons associated with the firms (22%) and lawyers … Continue reading Customers’ Perceptions of (Un)fairness in Securities Arbitration →

The Rise of the “Embedded Neutral?”

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During the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, we were introduced to the concept of the “embedded journalist.”  Pentagon officials claimed that they were limiting journalists’ access in order to ensure their safety and protect secret military operations.  These protestations likely were sincere, but Pentagon officials also must have been aware that “embedded journalists” were … Continue reading The Rise of the “Embedded Neutral?” →

Communities of Practice and the Continuing Evolution of Mediation

Long ago and far away, I was one of the people who successfully advocated for the institutionalization of ADR in a state court system.  But based on research conducted by Professor Bobbi McAdoo and others, I got pretty discouraged about what non-family civil, court-connected mediation had become—dominated by lawyers and a legal-and-litigation focus, characterized almost … Continue reading Communities of Practice and the Continuing Evolution of Mediation →

Emotions and Problem Definition in Mediation

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Leonard Riskin and I have written an article that will appear in the summer issue of the George Mason Law Review. Because we are concerned that many mediation sessions are characterized by a narrow, law-and-litigation-oriented problem definition, the article proposes several mechanisms to encourage parties to choose the problem definition for their mediation. Do they … Continue reading Emotions and Problem Definition in Mediation →

Corporate Use and Perceptions of ADR and What It Could Suggest for Legal Education

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Fulbright and Jaworski’s recently-released Fourth Annual Litigation Trends Survey Findings include an intriguing snapshot regarding corporations’ use and views of their dispute resolution process options.  The survey is based on responses from 305 participants—general counsel, associate general counsel, vice-presidents & general counsel, and deputy general counsel—who work for publicly and privately held companies in the … Continue reading Corporate Use and Perceptions of ADR and What It Could Suggest for Legal Education →