Law Commons^™

'Judicial' Decision-Making In Australia: Critique And Redemption, John Wade

John Wade

Extract: In Australia, as in most countries, the landscape of judges is vast. Judicial activity can be categorised in many ways. For example, first there is a tiny minority of judges with ’lifelong’ appointments (ie, to the age of 70 or 72 years); who are appointed by the government in power; who work in offices which look like traditional ’courtrooms’; and whose decision-making processes are usually publicised by observers and the publication of decisions and reasoning; and who, importantly, are constitutionally protected from political interference.

Re-Inventing The Pyramid: A Process For Teaching And Learning In Mediation Courses, John Wade

John Wade

This article describes an orthodox teaching and learning process known as the pyramid. It sets out how this basic process can be used in mediation (and other) training courses. The variations, advantages, and disadvantages of this learning procedure are described. Analogies are drawn between the pyramid method and mediation. Finally, mediators are challenged to add this process and its variations to their repertoires both as trainers and as mediators.

Forever Bargaining In The Shadow Of The Law - Who Sells Solid Shadows? (Who Advises What, How And When?), John Wade

John Wade

Extract: Mediators, lawyers and other skilled helpers normally exhort disputants to obtain “independent legal advice” before or after entering into negotiations. This article attempts to demystify and catalogue the concept of “legal advice” particularly in family disputes. Such a catalogue of in-formation and advice quickly raises a series of questions: • How much of this information and advice is actually made available at present? • How much information is necessary or helpful? • In what manner, form and language should such advice be given? • By whom should such advice be given? • How much of this information is within …

"Judicial" Decision-Making In Australia – Critique And Redemption, John Wade

John Wade

Extract:

This paper has four parts, namely a description of:

A. The Context ▪ Australia (the place) ▪ The vast landscape of “judicial” or quasi-judicial decision makers

B. The Commentary ▪ Repetitive critiques of judicial decision-making ▪ Redemption of judicial decision making

Plus an Appendix on Court Structures with details and diagrams.

Duelling Experts In Mediation And Negotiation: How To Respond When Eager Expensive Entrenched Expert Egos Escalate Enmity, John Wade

John Wade

Having dueling experts is a predictable problem for negotiators and mediators. A routine process in response is set out: normalizing, reframing, and turning the barrier into a standard problem-solving question. Twelve standard responses (each with inevitable advantages and disadvantages) are systematized for mediators and negotiators to learn and possibly add value to any negotiation.

Liability Of Mediators For Pressure, Drafting And Advice, John Wade

John Wade

Complex tensions that can occur during negotiations and decision-making are illustrated in the Supreme Court of Victoria decision in the case of Taphoohi v Lewenberg. Cases such as this place judges in the position of making decisions about 'proper mediator behaviour' and of making major policy decisions about professional diversity and standards.

False Dichotomies And Asking The Right Questions, John Wade

John Wade

This is a comment on a recent article entitled Enacting and Reproducing Social and Individual Identity Through Mediation by Ho-Beng Chia, Chee-Leong Chong, Joo-Eng Lee-Partridge, Chantel Chu Shi Hwee, and Sharon Francesca Koh Wei-Fei, in Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 2000, 19(1).

Mediation – Seven Fundamental Questions, John Wade

John Wade

In parts of many countries, mediation is a commonly used process for managing and resolving conflict. In many other places, mediation is virtually unknown in both practice and theory. People confuse mediation with meditation or medication. Why do these interesting anthropological variations exist? Why are the various forms of mediation relatively uncommon in Sweden?

A vast and growing literature is available on conflict management and mediation. This short comment will outline seven fundamental and recurring questions about mediation. Similar questions can be asked helpfully about every profession, including lawyering, plumbing and judging. Every lawyer should be able to answer these …

“Don’T Waste My Time On Negotiation And Mediation, This Dispute Needs A Judge.” Which Conflicts Need Judges? Which Conflicts Need Filing?, John Wade

John Wade

This article contains two parts. First, there is a framework aimed at encouraging lawyers and other conflict managers to be overtly analytical when deciding which interventions may or may not be helpful in a particular conflict. Second, to illustrate this analytical framework, there are two lists of factors or diagnostic indicators that suggest that certain conflicts probably need the decision of an umpire or judge and that certain other conflicts probably need written claims to be filed in a court or tribunal. This article does not attempt to create lists of factors that indicate the suitability of many other processes, …

Current Trends And Models In Dispute Resolution, Part 2, John Wade

John Wade

This article provides a helicopter view of some trends in dispute resolution in Australia, with random references to other jurisdictions. Thereby policy planners and practitioners who are dealing with conflict in the area of residential tenancies (or anywhere else) may be able to: locate their organisation and personal lives on the global map; feel normal; discover colleagues and fellow travellers who are attempting to manage conflict, proactively or reactively; anticipate future challenges; and develop options for responding to those future challenges. Part 1 of this article, published in Volume 9, Issue 1, highlights the pressures on managers and practitioners to …

Current Trends And Models In Dispute Resolution, Part 1, John Wade

John Wade

This article provides a helicopter view of some trends in dispute resolution in Australia, with random references to other jurisdictions. Thereby policy planners and practitioners who are dealing with conflict in the area of residential tenancies (or anywhere else) may be able to: locate their organisation and personal lives on the global map; feel normal; discover colleagues and fellow travellers who are attempting to manage conflict, proactively or reactively; anticipate future challenges; and develop options for responding to those future challenges. Part 1 of this article highlights the pressures on managers and practitioners to deliver effective services. It examines the …

The Last Gap In Negotiations - Why Is It Important? How Can It Be Crossed?, John Wade

John Wade

This paper discusses some basic principles concerning negotiation, including preparation for negotiation, negotiation styles, opening offers, the stages of negotiation and strategies and ethics. The last gap in negotiation is the step necessary to reach an agreement between the negotiating parties. This paper also addresses the importance of the last gap, whether the last gap be avoided, how to cross the last gap in negotiations, and available options for crossing the last gap in negotiations.

Lawyers And Mediators: What Each Needs To Learn From And About The Other, John Wade

John Wade

The mediation movement has been given publicity, funds of taxpayers, and support by propagating simplistic notions of the “adversary” system and of what lawyers do on a daily basis. Conversely, lawyers have often attempted to neutralise this rival profession by (as major doorkeepers to serious family disputes) wilful ignorance of their own behaviour, ignorant criticism of mediator behaviour, anecdotal warfare and attempts to co-opt mediation under their own monopolistic umbrella.

This paper reflects upon the behaviour of both family lawyers and family mediators with the aim of assisting each group understand the other. Both groups have much to learn from …