Mediation Practice

Something is in the air at the moment. And it goes to the heart of what we mediators do. On the one hand, noted mediation thinkers such as Robert Bush and Joseph Folger write an empassioned…

As 2014 comes to an end, it is good to reflect. How privileged many of us are. I often remark to others that my "job" is better than "real work". What do I mean when I say that? As mediators, we have…

(This is the first of three parts of a keynote address to the YMCA Conference “From Reactions to Relations” in Burton on Trent on 20 November 2014) Here's an interesting phenomenon. When asked to…

Global Legal Post recently carried an article intriguingly entitled “Lawyers find Eureka moments in the shower". Sadly the article itself lacked the slightly salacious promise of its title. …

I have never been a great fan of mediator's proposals. I took the view that the mediator's job, done well, was to help the parties to come to a solution themselves. Party autonomy and all that…

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” (Nelson Mandela) The inspiration for this piece has come from a two very different sources. First…

“The key to doing well lies not in overcoming others, but in eliciting their co-operation." Robert Axelrod “Although negotiation takes place every day, it is not easy to do well. Standard strategies…

STOP PRESS For one more week only you have the chance to have your say on the enforcement of cross-border mediated settlement agreements. I encourage each and every one of you to offer your input…

  On emerging from a rather taxing meeting a phrase popped into my mind which has done so regularly since I started mediating. It runs “a soft answer turns away wrath” and it is to be found in the…