Tag Archives: Real Practice Systems

If You Will Teach a Law School Mediation Course This Fall, Read This Article Right Away

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Are you going to teach a law school mediation course this fall? If so, I suggest that you read It’s Time to Make Important Upgrades to Our Mediation Curriculum right away. It’s also relevant to ADR survey, negotiation, and lawyering courses. The article includes numerous suggestions and links to handy resources that you can incorporate … Continue reading If You Will Teach a Law School Mediation Course This Fall, Read This Article Right Away →

A Snapshot of How Mediators Use Technology These Days

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I recently gave a presentation about how mediators use technology in their practices.  The program was organized by the Technology and Mediation Committees of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and co-sponsored by seven other committees. I’m sure no tech expert but I used the program to collect data from practitioners who use technology in … Continue reading A Snapshot of How Mediators Use Technology These Days →

Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Mediation Skills

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This short article uses Real Practice Systems (RPS) theory to identify things that mediators can do to improve their mediation skills. Mediators can begin by recognizing that they have a complex mediation practice system if they mediate regularly.  The article includes links to a short video and articles to help them understand their unique systems. … Continue reading Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Mediation Skills →

Ready, Set, Mediate!

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This post summarizes the discussion in a program entitled “Ready, Set, Mediate!” at the recent Court ADR Symposium.  The program about helping parties prepare for mediation sessions was part of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution’s annual conference.  This post includes the audience’s experiences of problems due to inadequate preparation for mediation sessions and a … Continue reading Ready, Set, Mediate! →

Helping Mediators Do the Best Mediation They Can

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Helping You Do the Best Mediation You Can is Part 2 of a two-part series presenting action research about factors affecting mediators’ individual practice systems and how they can improve their systems. Part 1 describes a study of mediators at well-received educational programs to help them learn why they developed their particular practice systems and … Continue reading Helping Mediators Do the Best Mediation They Can →

Why Do Mediators Mediate the Way They Do?

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Psychologist Kenneth Kressel argued that mediators’ mental models of mediation are largely unconscious mixtures of formal models and “personal ‘mini-theories’ of conflict and role of mediators.”  He defined mental schemas or models as “ideas the mediator holds about the role of the mediator; the goals to be attained (and avoided), and the interventions that are … Continue reading Why Do Mediators Mediate the Way They Do? →

Law Students Can Use Portfolios to Plan Their Practice Systems

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It’s not exactly breaking news that a major function of American law schools is to train an upper stratum of students for jobs as associates in elite law firms and as judicial clerks.  Parsing appellate case opinions and ace-ing closed-book exams are tasks especially well designed for this purpose. Although these activities reflect some important … Continue reading Law Students Can Use Portfolios to Plan Their Practice Systems →

Helping Law Students Define and Pursue Success

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On the AALS listserv, Gabe Teninbaum (Suffolk) asked, “[H]ow do we teach students to define successful outcomes in a given scenario?  And how do we help them understand how to communicate with clients about defining their own success?  As a former litigator, I remember balancing clients’ varied goals (their definition of “winning” didn’t always comport … Continue reading Helping Law Students Define and Pursue Success →

Real Lawyering Practice Systems

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So far, my pieces in the Real Practice Systems Project have focused on mediation.  The theory is not limited to mediation, and this post applies it to lawyering. In the mediation context, the theory argues that mediators have unique practice systems that grow out of their personal histories, values, goals, motivations, knowledge, and skills as … Continue reading Real Lawyering Practice Systems →

Technology in Real Practice Systems

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Love it or hate it – I sure feel both ways – technology is going to be an increasing part of our lives in the future. And that goes double for dispute resolution practitioners.  Dispute resolution is fundamentally about communication, and technological developments are rapidly revolutionizing how we communicate. I became more conscious of the … Continue reading Technology in Real Practice Systems →