Law Commons^™

How Can A Mediator Be Both Impartial And Fair: Why Ethical Standards Of Conduct Create Chaos For Mediators, Susan Nauss Exon

ExpressO

Currently, a mediator is faced with a dilemma. All state ethical standards of conduct (“Standards”), whether promulgated by a governmental entity or professional organization, require mediator impartiality. Yet many Standards also require a mediator to attain a fair result, achieve other concepts of fairness, balance power struggles and promote informed decisions. Is it possible for a mediator to conform to all of these qualities?

This article provides extensive research and analysis regarding Standards that focus on mediator impartiality and fairness. The research establishes that Standards create chaos for the practicing mediator to the extent they include vague and internally inconsistent …

Mediating Animal Law Matters, Kathy M. Hessler

ExpressO

Animal law matters are slowly making their way through our court system, resulting in some changes in the way we, as a society, view our relationships with non-human animals. Courts are increasingly struggling to reconcile two opposing constructs: the idea that non-human animals are property under the law, and the reality that non-human animals are different from other forms of property. Progress in resolving this tension within the courts is, and will continue to be, slow. The question then arises, what alternative exists?

Mediation is a method increasingly turned to in this country as an alternative to traditional litigation. It …

Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor: Rluipa And The Mediation Of Religious Land Use Disputes, Jeffrey H. Goldfien

Journal of Dispute Resolution

The question addressed in this article is whether existing systems for processing religious land use claims are well-suited to the task. The conclusion is that they are not, and that local officials and others involved in religious land use disputes ought to consider employing mediation at an early stage. The main virtue of mediation in this context is the opportunity it provides for disputants to meet face-to-face in an effort to understand the views of others, even if they do not agree with them. Facilitated dialogues among persons with differing perspectives is precisely what is missing from the traditional systems …

Resolving Conflict Together: The Understanding-Based Model Of Mediation, Gary Friedman, Jack Himmelstein

Journal of Dispute Resolution

The following excerpt is from a book in progress-tentatively titled, Resolving Conflict Together: The Understanding-Based Model of Mediation-that is planned to be published in 2007 by the American Bar Association. In this book, we seek to set out the approach to mediation that we have been developing through our work with the Center for Mediation in Law (the Center). We have termed this approach the "Understanding-Based Model" of mediation. The book develops twelve mediation cases, in which Gary served as mediator and which, with commentary, serve to transmit our approach to mediation. Each case focuses on a different aspect of …

After Basic Mindfulness Mediation: External Mindfulness, Emotional Truthfulness, And Lie Detection In Dispute Resolution, Clark Freshman

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Some years ago, our mutual friend, Carrie Menkel-Meadow, suggested Len Riskin and I talk about our shared interest in mindfulness meditation and negotiation. At the time, I had students sit quietly, eyes closed, get in touch with what was going on before a negotiation, write it out, and then crumple up the paper. It was a primitive form of meditation and journaling and, as I look back through research, not a very sound theoretical or empirically-supported way to help.' Eventually, mindfulness meditation and practices helped move me from my very primitive attempts at mindfulness to a very rich practice that …

State Legislative Update, Melissa Blair, Michael Benton, Jessica Gunder, David Lefevre

Journal of Dispute Resolution

As of December 1, 2006, twenty-eight states have enacted some type of right to cure legislation. On April, 28, 2006, Georgia, one of the twenty-eight, amended its construction defect dispute resolution procedures to clarify the responsibilities of the parties. Pennsylvania attempted to become the twenty-ninth, the bill having passed both houses of the legislature, but the Governor vetoed the bill on March 17. Right to cure legislation was considered in South Dakota, but it was deferred to the 36th Legislative Day on February 8, 2006.

Mediator As Peacemaker: The Case For Activist Transformative-Narrative Mediation, Christopher Harper

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This article proposes an approach to mediation encompassing aspects of both of these takes on mediation, something one might loosely think of as "activist transformative-narrative mediation." Essentially, this approach assumes the aspirations and ideology of Professor Gunning's "activist" take on transformative mediation and achieves those aspirations using techniques from narrative mediation. By employing this approach, mediators can actively assist parties to identify and achieve reconciliation, peace, and justice.

How Can A Mediator Be Both Impartial And Fair: Why Ethical Standards Of Conduct Create Chaos For Mediators, Susan Nauss Exon

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This article focuses on newly developing Standards designed to regulate the mediation industry with respect to civil disputes. The particular focus is on the mediator's requirements of neutrality and impartiality and whether these requirements are impacted by assurances of a fair result and other fairness concepts such as a balanced process and informed decision making. The basic problem is that mediators are guided by Standards and stand-alone definitions of mediation, yet many Standards contain contradictory or vague provisions. Furthermore, the mediator's actual role may be dictated by her own personal style, values, and commercial needs in conjunction with the parties' …

Mediators Without Borders: How Technology Is Leading The Charge To Globalised Dispute Resolution, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Mediation has made it to Hollywood. The opening scene of the romantic comedy The Wedding Crashers (2005) features a hilarious attempt at divorce mediation. The mediation scene does not demonstrate any mediation skills to be emulated and the film itself, apart from the opening scene, has nothing to do with mediation. Nevertheless one cannot ignore the power of the borderless dream machine called Hollywood. The Hollywood film industry does more than export films and fantasies around the world; it is a driving force in the globalisation of the themes with which it deals. When mediation becomes one of those themes …

Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor: Rluipa And The Mediation Of Religious Land Use Disputes, Jeffrey H. Goldfien

ExpressO

Religious land use disputes are characterized by high levels of conflict and the potential to seriously undermine social capital in affected communities. Contemporary land use procedures reflect an antiquated heritage and reliance upon adversarial means that are inadequate to successfully resolve these socially complex local conflicts. While there are practical obstacles, mediation holds advantages over these existing procedures in terms of dispute resolution, and has greater potential to preserve and build social capital at the local level. This article examines the theoretical justification for mediation in this context, and argues for moving beyond the status quo.

Mobile Mediation: How Technology Is Driving The Globalization Of Adr, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Mediation has made it to Hollywood. The opening scene of the romantic comedy, The Wedding Crashers (2005), features a hilarious attempt at divorce mediation. The mediation scene does not demonstrate any mediation skills to be emulated, and the film itself, apart from the opening scene, has nothing to do with mediation. Nevertheless one cannot ignore the power of the borderless dream machine called Hollywood. The Hollywood film industry does more than export films and fantasies around the world; it is a driving force in the globalization of the themes with which it deals. When mediation becomes one of those themes …

The Importance Of Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Techniques And Processes In The Ethical And Informed Representation Of Children, Kelly Browe Olson

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Selecting Mediators And Representing Clients In Cross-Cultural Disputes, Harold Abramson

Scholarly Works

This article was originally published as Selecting Mediators and Representing Clients in Cross-Cultural Disputes, 7 CARDOZO J. CONFLICT RESOL. 253 (2006).

Confidentiality In Arbitration: Beyond The Myth, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

Many people assume that arbitration is private and confidential. But is that assumption accurate? This article is the first to explore that question in the important context of whether arbitration communications can be discovered and admitted into evidence in other legal proceedings - a question that is just beginning to show up in the cases. It first surveys the federal and state statutory and case law, finding that arbitration communications in fact are generally discoverable and admissible. It then considers the normative desirability of discovering and admitting arbitration communications evidence, concluding that the free discovery and admissibility of arbitration communications …

Securities Mediation: Dispute Resolution For The Individual Investor, Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this article will provide a brief history of ADR in the securities industry (primarily arbitration), and then will describe the emergence of mediation as an alternative to arbitration. Part II will explore the state and federal statutory regulations that arguably govern the securities mediation process, and their impact on procedural and substantive justice. In particular, this section will review the applicability to and impact on securities mediation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (1934 Act), the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), and state mediation statutes, including the Uniform Mediation Act. In this section, I will argue that …

Mediating In The Shadow Of Australian Law: Structural Influences On Adr, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Mediation has grown rapidly in many Anglophone jurisdictions such as USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and England. The current state of mediation practice in many of these jurisdictions can be traced back to the establishment of community justice centres in the 1970s and 1980s. Mediation is practised in the private sector as well as in a wide range of court-referred programs. In many common law jurisdictions mediation is no longer a form of alternative dispute resolution, it has become primary dispute resolution.

Resolving Civilian-Police Complaints In New York City: Reflections On Mediation In The Real World, Raymond W. Patterson

Scholarly Works

The Civilian Complaint Review Board mediation program associated with the New York City Police Department appears to be an attractive alternative to the investigative process offered to complainants, offering the possibility of a higher level of satisfaction for both the civilian and the police officer. According to the scheme devised by the agency and the NYPD, cases that meet mediation guidelines should move smoothly from investigations through the approval process, coming to a scheduled mediation in a timely manner. Complaints containing some factor making them inappropriate for mediation should be able to be identified during that approval process, thus ensuring …

When Confidentiality Is Not Essential To Mediation And Competing Interests Necessitate Disclosure, Patrick Gill

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Mediation is a process where a neutral intervener helps disputing parties develop a mutually beneficial resolution. Confidentiality is an established element of mediation. In general, confidentiality furthers the ability of the parties to seek mutually beneficial outcomes to disputes that would otherwise customarily produce a win/lose result. Confidentiality encourages parties to explore their underlying interests, without fear of the repercussions of revealing such information. Arguments are asserted that mediation will not succeed without the assurance that communications will be protected by a confidentiality privilege. The Uniform Mediation Act (UMA) has attempted to clarify the various confidentiality protections afforded by individual …

Domestic Violence In Ghana: The Open Secret, Nancy Chi Cantalupo, Lisa Vollendorf Martin, Kay Pak, Sue Shin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This report discusses the findings of a Georgetown Law International Women’s Human Rights Clinic fact-finding team that traveled to Ghana, Africa in March 2003 to investigate domestic violence. The report reviews the contours of the domestic violence problem in Ghana and outlines the ways in which Ghanaian law and procedure was insufficiently addressing the problem at the time. Its chief findings include that the Ghanaian laws existing in 2003 inadequately punished perpetrators and protected victims of domestic violence and that court and police enforcement of the existing law was lacking, including because the government was allowing the removal of domestic …

Teaching Adr In The Labor Field In China, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

My first visit to China, in 1994, was purely as a tourist, and came about almost by accident. In late September of that year I attended the XIV World Congress of the International Society for Labor Law and Social Security in Seoul, South Korea. In the second week of October I was scheduled to begin teaching a one-term course in American law as a visiting professor at Cambridge University in England. Despite my hazy notions of geography, I realized it made no sense to return to the United States for the intervening week. The obvious solution was to continue flying …