Tag Archives: Mediation

Real Mediators’ Real Mediation Models

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Mediation theory generally focuses on models of mediation procedures.  While prescribed procedures obviously can be important factors affecting mediators’ behavior, traditional mediation theories are major oversimplifications that often don’t reflect the reality of how mediators actually think and act.  Many mediators agree with this critique, but these theoretical concepts still are widely used without much … Continue reading Real Mediators’ Real Mediation Models →

How You Can Build a Mediation Model to Optimize Your Own Cases

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That’s the title of a program I recently did for the Association of Northern [England] Mediators. I began by describing why formal mediation models, such as the facilitative and evaluative models, are incomplete and often misleading.  Mediators constantly must answer the question “What do I do now?”, and the formal models don’t help in most … Continue reading How You Can Build a Mediation Model to Optimize Your Own Cases →

Short Pieces You Might Want to Read

Peter Reilly’s call for updates on our scholarship prompted me to create the following lists of short articles and blog posts I wrote this year.  You might want to read some or see if any would fit into your syllabi as required or recommended readings addressing your teaching goals. The following pieces focus directly on … Continue reading Short Pieces You Might Want to Read →

How Mediators Can Solve Tough Problems in Mediation

In a recent presentation to mediators in Michigan, I asked the audience to describe what was frustrating in their mediations.  They often struggle when lawyers and parties are not prepared when they go to mediation, have unrealistic expectations, and act very emotionally. Their reactions prompted me to write this short article in the Michigan Dispute … Continue reading How Mediators Can Solve Tough Problems in Mediation →

ABA Dispute Resolution Mediation Institute on Nov 4-6

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From Jen Michel: Dear colleagues, Please forgive me for a brief e-introduction in this now-virtual world.  My name is Jennifer Michel and I am the new director of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution.  I look forward to our paths crossing in the near future. I am also reaching out to share information regarding the … Continue reading ABA Dispute Resolution Mediation Institute on Nov 4-6 →

The Role of Law in Legal Disputes

Law school teaches students that law is a seamless web of rules emanating from authorities like statutes and cases which they must memorize and finely parse in hypothetical cases. In real life, practitioners generally think of law in terms of Oliver Wendell Holmes’s famous definition:  “prophecies of what the courts will do in fact.” Of … Continue reading The Role of Law in Legal Disputes →

Teaching Students to Think Like Practitioners

People often say that dispute resolution processes aren’t “one size fits all.”  When practitioners are asked to opine about hypothetical problems, they often say “it depends” and they make “case by case” decisions. They are telling the truth.  Lawyers make complex decisions as negotiators, litigation advocates, and mediators based on a lot of factors, so … Continue reading Teaching Students to Think Like Practitioners →

Three New ABA Books Hot Off the Press!

The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution published three books this year that you, your colleagues, and your students might be interested in. Mediating Legal Disputes: Effective Techniques to Resolve Cases, Second Edition, by Dwight Golann. Psychology for Lawyers: Understanding the Human Factors in Negotiation, Litigation, and Decision Making, Second Edition, by Jennifer K. Robbennolt and … Continue reading Three New ABA Books Hot Off the Press! →

Charting a Middle Course for Court-Connected Mediation

The majority opinion in the Breslin case led me to write my piece, Courts Should Make Mediation Good Samaritans Not Frankensteins, which led the CPR Mediation Committee to sponsor a program, Consequences of Not Participating in Court Ordered Mediation:  What Is Fair?  I was one of the speakers, along with Lauren A. Jones, ADR Coordinator … Continue reading Charting a Middle Course for Court-Connected Mediation →

Reconciling Allegedly Alternative Mediation Models by Using DIY Models

Like it or not, facilitative and evaluative mediation are part of the social reality of our field.  Despite the fact that these models are misleading and provide counterproductive concepts to guide mediators’ behaviors and set parties’ expectations, they are inescapable.  They are standard elements in texts, courses, trainings, and general discourse in our field.  They … Continue reading Reconciling Allegedly Alternative Mediation Models by Using DIY Models →