New Film on Corporate/Community Relations
The second film on the use of facilitated dialogue to ease corporate/community tensions has been posted online. It may be viewed by clicking here. Read more »
Archive for the tag 'Mediation'
Attorney Disqualification: Mediation
A recent U.S. District Court opinion has tested the ethical rules barring mediators from representing a party in a subsequent matter that is “identical” or “substantially related” to the mediated matter. It found that, at least in the case before the court, that test had not been satisfied and the mediator/attorney was permitted to continue to represent the client. Read more »
Define “Mediation” in Seven Words, Anyone?
The irrepresible Michael Leathes is a collector of quotes. Little does he know that one of the early walks I had with him produced a quote of his own that I have always kept pinned on the corkboard of my mind: “It costs no more to think big than to think small.”
In a characteristically provocative and entertaining article, “Stop Shoveling Smoke!“, Leathes challenges our tolerance of vagueness in defining our own field. Why, he asks, is there no broadly accepted definition of the term “mediation”? Oddly for one so deeply steeped in cross-cultural subtleties, Leathes firmly believes not only that there is a universally applicable definition of “mediation,” but that it can be defined in seven words:
“Consensus facilitated by a trusted neutral person.” Read more »
Settlement Enforced Thanks to Mediator Testimony
In New Jersey, the Superior Court Appellate Division recently approved for publication a decision in which a party to a mediation successfully sought to enforce a settlement agreement reached orally but not commited to writing during the mediation. The objecting party had claimed that (a) the New Jersey Rule pursuant to which the mediation took place required a writing in order for the settlement to be enforceable, and (b) the purported agreement was the product of coercion by the mediator.
Of particular interest, the party seeking enforcement “supported the motion with a certification of their attorney and the mediator,” who also was deposed and testified at the hearing.
Of even more particular interest, the parties in this General Equity action selected a retired (and unnamed) Superior Court Judge as mediator. The trial judge on the motion found his former colleague’s testimony “highly credible.” Imagine that!
