Business Conflict Blog

The tireless Hanna Tuempel of the Dispute Resolution Services of the International Chamber of Commerce reminds us that the 7th ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition takes place in Paris on February 3-8, 2012.

In the competition, law students are faced with complex interational commercial problems that they must attempt to resolve by mediation conducted by the ICC’s ADR Rules.  Around 60 student teams and over 120 professional mediators are expected to participate in around 200 mock mediation sessions.  Students’ performance is evaluated by some of the world’s leading dispute resolution specialists who participate in the competition as judges.

Registration is now open.  If you attend, can you let us know how it went?

Tags: ADR Institutions, Mediation, Teaching, Training

Over the transom from our good friends at the International Mediation Institute comes this announcement:

The Inter-Cultural Taskforce of the IMI Independent Standards Commission (ISC), after a year of meetings and consultation, is publishing  for comment Draft Criteria for the planned IMI Inter-Cultural Competency Certification of Mediators.

Organisations approved by the ISC as an Inter-Cultural Qualifying Assessment Program (ICQAP) will assess mediators for their mastery of inter-cultural dynamics and qualify mediators for IMI Inter-Cultural Certification. The launch of this new initiative is planned for late 2011 following a public consultation period and testing of the criteria in a pilot program.

This is the first I heard of this initiative, and all I know is what I read.  From what I read…. Read more »

Tags: ADR Institutions, Culture, Mediation, Training

Attention must be paid to an important new publication from the Insurance Institute of London, Alternative Dispute Resolution in Practice.  Written by a team of contributors (of which I am one) under the Chairmanship of Paul Moss of Montpelier Re, and assembled through the tireless efforts of General Editor Alex Oddy of the firm Herbert Smith, this volume is just what the industry has been craving: A practical, hands-on resource book for claims adjusters, lawyers and other insurance and reinsurance professionals charged with managing disputed claims. Read more »

Tags: ADR, conflict management, Training

A recent article has been making the rounds of ADR professionals. The current issue of the American Psychological Association’s publication Psychology, Public Policy and Law (Vol. 16, No. 2, at 133-57) features a report of a study conducted by a group of scholars from Australia, Sweden and the United States. The group canvassed 481 American attorneys – in civil and criminal cases, both plaintiffs/prosecutors and defense – and found that lawyers are prone to overconfidence. That is, they predict outcomes of their cases that are not only erroneous, but generally too optimistic.

I’m wondering why this is news. I think that we mediators have known this all along; in fact, that’s why we’re hired. Read more »

Tags: ADR, Lawyers, Negotiation, Teaching, Training