Tag Archives: Mediation

How Can Courts – Practically for Free – Help Parties Prepare for Mediation Sessions?

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If there’s anything approaching unanimity in our field, it’s that it’s important to prepare in dispute resolution processes like mediation. So it’s almost boring to write about it.  But I found some things that should be interesting and helpful for parties, practitioners, and mediation program administrators. Last December, I wrote a short article, The Critical … Continue reading How Can Courts – Practically for Free – Help Parties Prepare for Mediation Sessions? →

Party Self-Empowerment from Preparation for Mediation Sessions

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In The Critical Importance of Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation, I explained why parties’ preparation for their mediation sessions can produce many significant benefits.  This post suggests that preparation before mediation sessions is an important opportunity for parties to empower themselves. People have used the concept of “empowerment” in mediation in various ways, as I described … Continue reading Party Self-Empowerment from Preparation for Mediation Sessions →

Bush’s and Lande’s Differing Perspectives of Mediation Theory

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Thanks to Andrea Schneider, the Cardozo Journal on Dispute Resolution’s faculty advisor, and its editors, the Journal just published articles by Professor Robert A. Baruch Bush and me expressing differing perspectives about basic mediation theory.  I appreciate this opportunity to publish our perspectives and share them with readers. Prof. Bush’s article is Beyond the Toolbox: … Continue reading Bush’s and Lande’s Differing Perspectives of Mediation Theory →

Avatar Mediation

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I’m sure no techie, but probably like you, I have been intrigued about stories about the ChatGPT program.  One illustration was in my post, A Mediator and a Bot Walk into a Bar … Of course, artificial intelligence almost certainly will become much more sophisticated in the foreseeable future.  Major tech firms have been working … Continue reading Avatar Mediation →

A Mediator and a Bot Walk into a Bar …

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Some of you know John Stephens, a colleague at the University of North Carolina School of Government, who has focused on conflict resolution for his long career.  Like many of us, he was intrigued by ChatGPT and gave the following prompt and got the following response. Describe and contrast three main models of mediation for … Continue reading A Mediator and a Bot Walk into a Bar … →

New Book on Effectively Representing Clients in Family Mediation

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Forrest (Woody) Mosten, Elizabeth Potter Scully, and Lara Traum’s book, Effectively Representing Clients in Family Mediation, was just published by the ABA.  This is particularly valuable because many parties rely on lawyers to represent them in mediation, and there probably are many more lawyers who act as advocates in mediation than those who mediate. The … Continue reading New Book on Effectively Representing Clients in Family Mediation →

How The Real Practice Systems Project Can Help Improve Mediation Quality

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Improving mediation quality is tricky.  This post describes how the Real Practice Systems Project can help. In Principles for Policymaking about Collaborative Law and Other ADR Processes, I argued that policymakers generally should consider non-regulatory policy options before adopting new rules. Non-regulatory approaches include training for disputants and professionals, dispute referral mechanisms, technical assistance for ADR … Continue reading How The Real Practice Systems Project Can Help Improve Mediation Quality →

Would You Like to Get the Benefit of the Real Practice Systems Project and Share Your Experiences?

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I am doing a research study entitled “Assessment of Real Practice Systems Experience” to assess how well Real Practice Systems assignments and exercises have worked in courses, trainings, and continuing education programs as well as for individual practitioners.  I’m writing to invite you to participate in this study. In this document, I describe how faculty … Continue reading Would You Like to Get the Benefit of the Real Practice Systems Project and Share Your Experiences? →

Seeking Resources to Promote Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation

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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

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This post collects and summarizes the posts in the Real Practice Systems Project.  I began by focusing 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 dealing with recurring challenging situations.  Practitioners develop systems for other … Continue reading Real Practice Systems Project →