Yet another wonderful post by you with you doing all the hard work for those new and old to the field.

Thank you yet again!

Thanks so much for mentioning the Commercial and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group, and for your kind words about it.

On the subject of resources for cognition I highly recommend a book I’m reading by Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner entitled How Judges Think. Drawing on psychology, politics, economics, philosophy, pragmatism, decision theory, and other disciplines, Posner gives the reader unique insights into how judges think. Anyone interested in mediating or negotiating cases pending in state or federal court could certainly improve his or her skills by knowing something about the “alternative-decision-maker’s” perspective on the conflict, and Posner has written a tour de force on the subject.

Phil

To my mind and in my experience the legal bias for the context of mediation is a real problem for the growth of mediation because it puts it into the same “incomprehensible” bracket as the law is for most people. By way of example, our recently deposed government introduced over 3000 separate items of legislation EACH YEAR during their time in government. How is the average person or even the average business person supposed to feel they can understand the law that applies to them? It is a “rabbit in the headlights” scenario.

It is a question of “education” in part but it is also a question of responsibility. Understanding the usefulness, effectiveness and appropriateness of mediation is a question at least of corporate governance if not a personal one. In the meantime, what can we do to shift the balance? If you had any other product that was as reliable and effective as mediation is, someone would have put a lot of money into promotion and development by now. In commercial terms, the public don’t know that they need it and their lawyers won’t tell them until they have to. It is an opportunity. It needs entrepreneurs not hobbyists or to be practiced as a pension top up.

Thank you so much for bringing this up. I am very concerned that underlying philosophies of mediation, the values that make mediation work, are so often misunderstood and misused. I understand that there are a number of schools of thought and practice. However, requiring subject-matter expertise is not (or should not be) one of them. Isn’t the point that the participants are the experts and the mediator is there to learn and guide learning about the underlying issues?

I have been contacted by a number of lawyers looking to transition into mediation practice who ask me about the field. When I tell them that it is not not part of my role to determine what is true they ask, “but how do you make a decision”?

We have quite a lot of work to do to educate the general public about the unique benefits of mediation and a need for serious dialogue about the direction of the field. I am glad for blogs like yours (and Jeff’s) that provide that kind of information and conversation.

Best,

Bathabile
http://www.123untangled.com.