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
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
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
The Real Practice System Menu of Mediation Checklists received many rave reviews. People said that they are “interesting,” “informative,” “so very useful,” “really helpful,” “great,” “excellent,” “wonderful,” “fantastic,” “invaluable,” “impressive,” “very thorough,” “brilliant,” and “utterly awesome” resources. “Just wow!” I identified numerous ways that the checklists could be used by practitioners, program administrators, and faculty, … Continue reading Practitioners Tell Why Real Practice System Checklists Are So Useful
Tom Valenti is a Chicago-based conflict resolution specialist offering mediation, arbitration, and facilitation services and training. He also is a humanitarian activist who is a co-founder of Mediation Beyond Borders. He co-leads the Athens Migration Dialogue Project, which helps local communities to design, organize and conduct dialogues that address difficult and dangerous issues, such as … Continue reading Tom Valenti: Using Real Practice Systems Checklists in Practice and Teaching
I received many enthusiastic responses to my menu of mediation checklists, including that they are “interesting,” “informative,” “so very useful,” “really helpful,” “great,” “excellent,” “wonderful,” “fantastic,” “invaluable,” “impressive,” “very thorough,” “brilliant,” and “utterly awesome” resources. “Just wow!” No kidding. The checklists are part of the Real Practice System Project. Although it has focused particularly on … Continue reading How Do You Want to Use the Real Practice Checklists?
Gary Doernhoefer, the founder of ADR Notable, suggested that I produce a bibliography for its users. ADR Notable is an app providing case management software to help mediators handle case intake, bill clients, manage client documents, develop checklists and task reminders, take notes, build documents, and manage client relationships generally. Gary recognized that our respective … Continue reading Real Practice Systems Project Annotated Bibliography
Gary Doernhoefer, the founder of ADR Notable, suggested that I produce checklists for its users. ADR Notable is an app providing case management software to help mediators handle case intake, bill clients, manage client documents, develop checklists and task reminders, take notes, build documents, and manage client relationships generally. Gary recognized that our respective work … Continue reading Real Practice Systems Project Menu of Mediation Checklists
I was thrilled that my recent post, Focus on Party Decision-Making, prompted a stimulating conversation on the DRLE listserv, including thoughtful comments by Mary Bedikian, Doug Frenkel, Dwight Golann, Deborah Hensler, Charlie Irvine, Andrew Mamo, Cash Nickerson, Peter Philips, Jim Stark, Jean Sternlight, Nancy Welsh, and Roselle Wissler. This post discusses some issues in the … Continue reading Teaching Students to Focus on Party Decision-Making
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?
