Tag Archives: Skills and Techniques

Would You Like to Get the Benefit of the Real Practice Systems Project and Share Your Experiences?

I am doing a research study entitled “Assessment of Real Practice Systems Experience” to assess how well Real Practice Systems assignments and exercises have worked in courses, trainings, and continuing education programs as well as for individual practitioners.  I’m writing to invite you to participate in this study. In this document, I describe how faculty … Continue reading Would You Like to Get the Benefit of the Real Practice Systems Project and Share Your Experiences? →

Seeking Resources to Promote Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation

7 Comments

My post, The Critical Importance of Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation, really resonated for some people. Clearly, pre-session preparation can help everyone involved in mediation to improve the process and outcomes.  Many mediators and mediation programs routinely incorporate robust pre-session procedures in their mediation systems. Roselle Wissler and Art Hinshaw’s empirical study provides some good news … Continue reading Seeking Resources to Promote Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation →

Real Practice Systems Project

The Real Practice Systems (RPS) Project grew out of dissatisfaction with traditional mediation theories, which are incomplete and misleading.  I  first articulated RPS Theory in my 2023 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution article, Real Mediation Systems to Help Parties and Mediators Achieve Their Goals.  It identifies problems with traditional mediation theories, argues that dispute system … Continue reading Real Practice Systems Project →

The Critical Importance of Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation

1 Comment

It’s indisputable that preparation before mediation sessions is very important – both for the participants and the mediators.  This can make a huge difference in the process and outcome. Parties (and their lawyers, if any) need to be prepared to discuss the facts, law, interests, and/or negotiation approaches etc.  This is hard enough when they … Continue reading The Critical Importance of Pre-Session Preparation in Mediation →

Using Real Practice Systems Resources in Practice

This post describes how mediators can use ideas and materials from the Real Practice Systems Project to better understand and improve their own mediation systems.  Mediators’ practice systems are the combination of factors affecting what they do before, during, and after mediation sessions.  These systems include their routine procedures and strategies for dealing with recurring … Continue reading Using Real Practice Systems Resources in Practice →

Real Mediators’ Real Mediation Models

2 Comments

Mediation theory generally focuses on models of mediation procedures.  While prescribed procedures obviously can be important factors affecting mediators’ behavior, traditional mediation theories are major oversimplifications that often don’t reflect the reality of how mediators actually think and act.  Many mediators agree with this critique, but these theoretical concepts still are widely used without much … Continue reading Real Mediators’ Real Mediation Models →

Shestowsky’s Study Supports Value of Lawyers’ Early Education of Clients About Their Procedural Options

For a long time, Donna Shestowsky has conducted empirical studies of litigants’ perceptions about dispute resolution processes.  CPR’s Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation magazine just published an article summarizing her study about parties’ expectations about the process used to resolve their cases.  The article is Why Client Expectations of Legal Procedures Must Be … Continue reading Shestowsky’s Study Supports Value of Lawyers’ Early Education of Clients About Their Procedural Options →

Readings and Resources for Teaching

As an annual tradition, this is a reminder of some of my favorite things you might use in your courses as you plan for next academic year. Here’s a post suggesting how you can teach students to use more realistic, thorough, and practical models of negotiation and mediation than we traditionally teach. Here’s a message … Continue reading Readings and Resources for Teaching →

Gay Couples Can Teach Straight People a Thing or Two About Arguing

That’s the title of an article in the New York Times. It reports that “[s]ame-sex couples, on average, resolve conflict more constructively than different-sex couples, and with less animosity, studies have shown.” It cites researchers suggesting ideas that our field generally recommends including: Using humor to defuse anger Staying calm Being mindful of the other’s … Continue reading Gay Couples Can Teach Straight People a Thing or Two About Arguing →

How You Can Build a Mediation Model to Optimize Your Own Cases

2 Comments

That’s the title of a program I recently did for the Association of Northern [England] Mediators. I began by describing why formal mediation models, such as the facilitative and evaluative models, are incomplete and often misleading.  Mediators constantly must answer the question “What do I do now?”, and the formal models don’t help in most … Continue reading How You Can Build a Mediation Model to Optimize Your Own Cases →