I will never understand why people go to mediation (and pay lots of money to a mediator) when they are not prepared to settle. I had another one of those mediations recently that went nowhere even before it started. I knew something was amiss when I did not receive any [Read More]
Standard I of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators is entitled "Self-Determination" and admonishes us that "a mediator shall conduct a mediation on the principle of party self-determination." It then defines "self-determination" as" …the act of coming to a voluntary uncoerced decision in which each party makes free and [Read More]
Mediators are supposed to avoid conflicts of interest. According to Standard III of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators (2005): …[a] conflict of interest can arise from involvement by a mediator with the subject matter of the dispute or from any relationship between the mediator with the subject matter [Read More]
Recently, I conducted two mediations that revealed the importance of flexibility, creativity and being prepared. The first one was an alleged wrongful termination case in which the employer was disputing that the alleged employee was even terminated. According to the alleged employer, the alleged employee quit while the employee claimed [Read More]
Well, it happened again; another mediation in which one side was not prepared. And… as you might surmise, the mediation did not last long. (This is a topic I have often addressed in my blogs.) It involved a used automobile. The plaintiff claimed that the used car dealer breached both [Read More]
One of the issues that mediators learn about is power imbalance: one party may have more power during a negotiation than the other party. This may be due to any number of reasons. One side may have more money to fight the good fight, may have more information, expertise or [Read More]
It is funny how sometimes the stars align to suddenly highlight an issue that was nowhere in my conscious brain before then. Last night, I received an emergency e mail asking if I could help a fellow professor with her class tonight. I looked at my schedule and found I [Read More]
Standard I of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators is entitled “Self- Determination” and provides that each party is to make a free and informed choice as to process and outcome. Mediation is a voluntary process in which each party is to make her own uncoerced decision. Standard II [Read More]
