This post is a follow up to last week's post about the Observer Effect in Family Law, and the ongoing conversation on the MBA's My Bar Access forum about the recent decision in the Ventrice case. A few attorneys in that discussion have expressed an opinion that is clearly held by many others:

"...what I see is a lot of failed mediation."

Unfortunately, this fact may be true for many, because litigators don't see the successful cases from mediators, they only see the cases that failed. This creates a skewed view of mediation. But it's also problematic if you extrapolate any one failure to all mediation. If the parties failed to reach an agreement in mediation does that mean mediation doesn't work, or that mediation didn't work for that couple?  If a party changes lawyers do, we call that a failure of the whole court system?

Read more at Mediate.com [HERE]. 

ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION: TRENDING WORLDWIDE FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

The rising trend of alternative dispute resolution was a focus of the New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlantic City, NJ.

Arbitrator and mediator Robert E. Margulies, in a May 18 session, observed, “The culture has changed.” Noting that the United States is viewed as having an advanced alternative dispute resolution culture, Margulies added, “The world is trying to get [there], and it will get there.”

This rise in ADR advocacy is especially true for the labor and employment markets as a growing number of cases are resolved through arbitration and mediation.

Read more from Bloomberg BNA [HERE]. 

ICC Mediation Conference to engage participants from start to finish

Despite all good intentions, businesses and their counsel have to be prepared with practical strategies

 in the event of a dispute. But not all disputes call for the same method of resolution. This year’s International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Mediation Conference is designed to provide in-house counsel and corporate management representatives with an arsenal of tips, tools and best practices to effectively resolve commercial disputes.