Collaboration (4/12/13)
Joe Markowitz
There was talk around the ABA Dispute Resolution Conference this week that the demand for mediation services may be declining. If that's true, does that mean that mediation is falling out of favor, just as arbitration has somewhat fallen out of favor? Or is it a reflection of the economy and the decline in demand for dispute resolution services in general?

Collaborative Law & the Get Artisan Movement with Neil Denny (4/02/13)
Neil Denny
In this episode of the Conflict Specialists Show with Dave Hilton, Dave interviews Neil Denny from Bath, England about collaborative law, teaching people to engage in conflict, "Conversational Riffs" and other books by Neil, and the "Get Artisan™ Movement."

How Does Collaborative Law Work? (12/21/12)
Dick Price
This is the third in a series of stories about how Collaborative Law actually works in a divorce case. These cases are not real cases. The facts and stories are expanded and modified from real issues faced by families going through a Collaborative divorce.

Turning Conflict into Collaboration (11/30/12)
Tammy Lenski
I’m addressing a group of municipal leaders and employees about turning conflict into collaboration. Here are a few of the ideas I’m going to share with them.

When Interests Change at the Negotiating Table (11/11/12)
F. Peter Phillips
Neither negotiation pundits nor political commentators seem very quick to pick up on an obvious fact of life: That, as negotiations continue, the underlying objective of the parties may change, and their interest may morph.

Rising Tides Raise All Boats (11/05/12)
Clare Fowler
We are lucky as mediators to work in a field where supporting others in the field also serves to benefit the individual. In this win/win environment, let's take a moment to celebrate each other's successes.

Family Therapy: Universal and Unique Approaches - Video (9/25/12)
Samuel Gladding
Through a series of entertaining, brief, and instructional role plays, Dr. Gladding reviews several universals of family treatment approaches, such as types of communication patterns, rules, and feedback. This role play shows an example of a mediator listening to families discuss their day, and giving honest feedback about how statements have affected them.

Why You Shouldn't Negotiate with Your Spouse (8/27/12)
Dick Price
As a Collaborative case progresses, one or both of the parties often want to "save time" or "save money" by negotiating directly with their spouse, outside of the joint Collaborative meetings. That's usually a bad idea from my experience.

Collaborative Divorce (8/06/12)
Gary Direnfeld
This article explains some of the specifics of the collaborative process for divorcing couples. It discusses who will be involved and who is subject to the collaborative policies.

Collaborative Family Helping - Video (7/25/12)
Collaborative Helping
This video introduces Collaborative Helping, an integrated practice framework that draws from cutting edge ideas and practices in family therapy, community/organizational development, and post-modern thinking while applying them in a concrete and accessible fashion.

Mediating Between the Mediation Models - Part 1 (7/23/12)
Kathy Goodman
This article discusses the four stories of the mediation process:  Satisfaction, Social Justice, Transformation, and Oppression. It explains the four stories and then compares them.

Mass Claims in The Netherlands (7/23/12)
Colin Rule
The Dutch ‘Class Action (Financial Settlement) Act [WCAM] came into operation in the Netherlands on 27 July 2005. This post describes the rules of mass claims.

Negotiation and the Attorney in the Collaborative Process (7/21/12)
Sherri Goren Slovin
As collaborative family law (CFL) matures and moves beyond discussions of paradigm shifts, collaborative protocols and choreography, lawyers grapple with their role in the negotiation of the collaborative case. Too often, lawyers engaged in the collaborative process complain that beneath the veneer of collaboration, they revert to familiar, positional bargaining. What is the advocacy role of the collaborative lawyer? Why should a client choose a lawyer who will engage in collaborative advocacy? What value does the client receive in the collaborative process from the lawyer’s role?

Getting Past the Awkward Stage (7/16/12)
Vivian Scott
If you’re trying to build better relationships on the job (paid or volunteer) look for ways to create cross-departmental work groups. Even if there are no work projects to focus on, there are always opportunities to create task forces on building safety, employee morale, or even the holiday committee. Offer up help without looking too eager wherever and whenever you can.

Want to Understand Power Better? A New Book from Neuroscientist Ian Robertson may help (7/09/12)
Stephanie West Allen
Power and money both act on the brain's reward system, which if over-stimulated for long periods develops appetites that are difficult to satisfy, just as is the case for drug addiction. We call these appetites greed and greedy people are never satisfied. That is the challenge for politicians and regulators.

The “Secret Sauce” of Grief Counseling and Mediation: A Different Eye (7/02/12)
Karin S. Hobbs
I recently attended a session entitled “What Mediators Can Learn from the Brain Science of Grief Counseling” at the Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference in Seattle. I was interested that the lecturer, Professor John Medina, a molecular biologist fed up with current popular myths surrounding neuroscience and author of Brain Rules, was explaining a method of grief counseling that actually helps people who have been traumatized.

Collaborative Divorce Explained - Video (6/26/12)
Dr. Ellie Izzo
Dr. Ellie Izzo, an expert in the field, explains the details and benefits to a Collaborative Divorce. She discusses how Tiger Woods decides to put his children first in an amicable divorce.

Mediation May be the Solution to Guarantee the Long Term Positive Impact of Beautiful Moments (6/25/12)
Andrea Maia
Looking beyond the short term, the fun, and the parties, large international sports events are an opportunity for the host country to improve the life of its citizens on a permanent basis.

Two Deadly Biases (6/25/12)
Maria Simpson
People like order and certainty, so they create an explanation that supports that order and then reinforces it. Maria Simpson points out that the problem with creating this order is that mediators can lump participants into roles that create assumptions and biases.

Mediate.com Launches Arbitrate.com and Five Additional ADR Directories (6/25/12)
James Melamed
Mediate.com is pleased to announce the launch of Arbitrate.com. Mediate.com and Arbitrate.com are also now joined by five additional ADR Directories!

The Basics of Collaborative Family Law - A Divorce Paradigm Shift (6/24/12)
Sherri Goren Slovin
Collaborative Family Law (CFL) is a revolutionary approach to divorce that has quickly spread throughout the United States and Canada. Often misunderstood and occasionally maligned, it has the potential to dramatically change the field of family law.

The Transition from TKI Assessment to Effective Behavior (6/11/12)
Ralph Kilmann
The immediate benefit of taking the TKI assessment and reviewing your results (which includes a personalized report with the online version of the assessment) is awareness. You learn which conflict modes you might be using too much, usually out of habit, and which ones you might be using too little—since you’ve not been exposed to the many positive uses of your underutilized modes. Although gaining awareness is the decisive Step 1, these four additional steps must be taken to improve how you actually behave in conflict situations so you and other people will be more satisfied and your organization will be more successful.

Understanding The Basics Of Collaborative Family Law (5/24/12)
Sherri Goren Slovin
The process you choose to end your marriage will have a far-reaching impact on the custodial, financial and emotion outcome. Depending on where you live, you may have the options of mediation, Collaborative Family Law (Collaborative Practice), traditional negotiation, or litigation. The following is an overview of the Collaborative Family Law process.

Collaborative Lawyers' Duties to Screen the Appropriateness of Collaborative Law and Obtain Clients' Informed Consent to Use Collaborative Law (5/20/12)
Forrest (Woody) Mosten, John Lande
Collaborative Law (CL) is an innovative dispute resolution process that offers significant benefits but also poses significant non-obvious risks. This Article provides a systematic analysis of these possible risks as identified in books written by CL experts, CL practice group websites, social science research, and bar association ethics opinions.

GenWhy--A Site for Young International Mediators (5/07/12)
Aik Kramer
With its platform Generation Why supports young mediators, and through its website enables them to become more visible. Also, Generation Why wants to facilitate this ‘light community’ of young mediators by organizing various kinds of activities. Generation Why is convinced that in future mediators will fulfill an important role in solving social issues. Peer mediators are, by definition, in step with their generation and can help make complex social conflicts involving youth and young adults manageable again.

The Spiritual Aspects Of Collaborative Law (5/01/12)
Dale L. Raugust
The good news is that within the last few years there has been an explosion of new approaches to the resolution of conflict within the family. The adversary system is now regarded by most far sighted individuals as an outdated and ineffective method for resolving conflicts within the family. Most of the time the adversary system makes the problem worse, as the members of the family are forced to talk trash about the other member to “win” their case and obtain custody of the children or a better financial settlement. One new method of dispute resolution is collaborative law.

Facing Mediation? 5 Strategies (4/22/12)
JoAnne Donner
As a mediation coach, my mantra is “Mediation can be one of the most important days of your life. The decisions made that day can affect you and your family for the rest of your lives.”

The Mediator as Healer? (4/17/12)
Nigel Singer
I have been a mediator for years, but only recently have I been toying with the idea that my role is a healer. This is a transition for me and an ongoing process. I am working through this concept and how it affects my identity. I also wonder how it changes my approach to my clients.

Persuasion in Mediation: Try Storytelling (4/09/12)
Nancy Hudgins
Lawyers who try cases know that telling stories in opening statements and closing arguments is a compelling and persuasive way to influence juries. As Annette Simons in The Story Factor puts it, when you are trying to influence a group, giving them more facts is just piling on more facts. Jurors likely have more facts than they can process well.

Competitive Bargaining Delays 2011-2012 NBA Season (4/09/12)
Michael Finkelstein
This article focuses on the positional bargaining tactics employed by the NBA and its players during the league's recent labor dispute. The article explores how highly competitive bargaining led to a mediation impasse and how, by showing that they were unwavering in their position, the NBA pressured its players into accepting an agreement.

Homeowner Mediator Association Primer (4/09/12)
Jim Lingl
There is no “right” or “wrong” type of mediation style.  Effective mediators can be helpful in almost any setting, regardless of their predominant style.  But resolution of different types of dispute can be enhanced by the selection of the best style of mediator to match the participants and the conflict.

Order Or Chaos – What Is Your Preference? (4/02/12)
Bill Marsh
I recently came across a new word – new to me, at least, which was irritating because I pride myself on having a pretty good vocabulary. The word is “Chaordic”. To quote Wikipedia, “The portmanteau chaordic refers to a system of governance that blends characteristics of chaos and order”.

Why Is Everyone So Competitive? It’s Not Them, It’s Us! (4/02/12)
Regina Kim
Not surprisingly, when a cooperator interacts with another cooperator in conflict, he cooperates with the other to reach an outcome that is beneficial to both of them. And when a competitor interacts with another competitor, she competes against the other to reach an outcome that is most beneficial to her.

Emotional Involvement in a Fairly Legal Resolution (3/16/12)
Alex Dukhovny
Emotional involvement is the idea that each party in a conflict has some personal feelings concerning the dispute. As mediators we are taught to remain neutral, thus fundamentally non-emotionally involved. However, the TV series portrays a mediator being so emotional about the disputes she handles that all ethics and dispute resolution practices go out the window. Kate Reed wears many hats, a mediator, a lawyer, a detective and sometimes even a defendant. With her trusty assistant, she is able to not only solve disputes, but as she puts it, “Solve your problems.”

Distinguishing Between Compromising and Collaborating (3/12/12)
Ralph Kilmann
People often ask me to clarify the difference between compromising and collaborating, especially since these two modes involve both people getting their needs met. In particular, people often use the word compromise to indicate that they have completely resolved the matter at hand: “We achieved a successful compromise!”