A Day in Court

I was in court recently supporting a friend whose family member is involved in litigation over a serious civil matter. The matter has been ongoing for a long time. At the end of the trial, in a few weeks or months, the judge will have to decide what happens next in their lives. His judgment will depend upon his interpretation of the applicable law and the conclusions he draws from the evidence provided by the witnesses. Of course, ten years later it was obviously difficult… Continue

Mediation is a process where parties come together to solve their own disputes. The parties - with the help of a mediator - are expected to find a solution to their own problem. One of the advantages of mediation is that it keeps the control over the outcome of their dispute with the parties.



There are those who believe that mediators worry too much about process. A well structured process, however, provides an opportunity for the parties to engage: to explore, to understand, to… Continue

As I started out on my own quest during an LLM program to better understand what is, as Marvin Gaye crooned, goin' on at mediation, I encountered a great book by Kaplan, Kaplan and Ryan, With People in Mind, The Design and Management of Everyday Nature (link provided below) This an easy to understand book about how the ways that we design and manage "everyday nature" i.e. city parks and open spaces, corporate grounds, city streets and even our own backyards, can positively enhance our human… Continue

I have been mulling lately on the connections between ADR & access to justice and how the RPM might helpfully inform a dialogue. Some ADR professionals may be wary of such a dialogue because the "solution" may be posed as free or cut-rate ADR processes. Resistance to such a scenario is natural. These suggestions may diminish, and perhaps feel threatening to, the ADR profession. I believe, however, that the access to justice debate can benefit, in a much broader way, from the insights of… Continue