This past Monday--March 20- marked the ten-year anniversary of the International Day of Happiness. Evidently, it was created by a United Nations Resolution passed at its 118th plenary meeting on June 28, 2012, declaring March 20th of each year to be the holiday. As one might guess, the resolution was [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]
Why do mediators request briefs from the parties? No- it is not just to learn about the case. Their more important function is to force the parties to think and analyze their case; to give some thought about the strengths and weaknesses of their respective cases and consequently, their position [Read More]
Thanks to “safer at home” orders, I, like many other mediators, have spent my time learning the intricacies of video conferencing and more specifically Zoom as it has become crystal clear that mediations by telephone or video conference will be the “new normal”. It will be many months if not [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]
In preparing to teach a class on mediation ethics, I read Mediation Ethics edited by Ellen Waldman (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2011). In it, she makes a point I had never thought about: The Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators are inconsistent. (Id. at 13-14.) (“Model Standards”) While the Model Standards [Read More]
In 2005, the American Bar Association together with other organizations, adopted the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators. Standard 1 entitled “Self Determination” defines it as … the act of coming to a voluntary, uncoerced decision in which each party makes free and informed choices as to process and outcome. [Read More]
