A great article about how understanding Neuroscience can add to the mediation process; how different parts of the brain pertain to different outcomes and parts of mediation process. Read the full article here...
Sandy Hollis and Deborah Clapshaw Peter Adler1 uses a metaphor about surfing to demonstrate how the more we know, the more aware we become of how little we know and how much more we need to know. He describes four stages of skill development‐ unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence and applies it to the challenge of riding waves. As he notes, the metaphor and the pathway to mastery apply to most things in life. Lawyers have crossed the great divide from courtroom advocacy to mediation advocacy with enthusiasm and in some cases real sensitivity to the demands of the new forum. There is however a further...
I have been puzzled for some time about the reasons for the slow uptake in the use of restorative justice in resource management prosecutions. The judiciary advocates its use, Judge McElrea in particular publishes regularly on its value, there is a statutory obligation under the Victims Rights Act 2002 for defence counsel and prosecutors to consider its use and conference participants enthuse about it. Yet despite the fact that over 80% of defendants in resource management prosecutions plead guilty, nationally there were only six restorative justice conferences in the period July 2001 to April 2005 and thirteen in the period May 2005 to June 2008. During these...
For a mediator, a day in mediation is an enriching experience. It is a privilege to watch parties move from what at first blush, appeared to be an intractable dispute attended by a high level of conflict, to resolution at the mediation table. Everyday in mediation we witness a shift in parties’ understanding of a dispute and in consequence their approach to it. We get to understand a little more about the complexities of the human psyche, what moves and shakes people, what pushes buttons and what has profound impact. Granted some of this may be less than obvious in a more tradtional negotiation about “the money”, but...
By Deborah Clapshaw and Susan Freeman-Green The Hon Margaret Wilson has announced that mediation may be used to cope with a surging caseload for the courts caused by the Property (Relationships) Act which came into force on 1 February 2002. This announcement is yet another illustration of the government's recognition of the value of mediation as a dispute resolution tool. This time in the context of its particular appropriateness for family disputes. The spotlight is also being placed on mediation in the Law Commission's review on Family Court Dispute Resolution, where it is calling for submissions on a discussion paper considering possible systemic changes that would facilitate...
Deborah Clapshaw & Susan Freeman-Greene A. INTRODUCTION 1. DO WE NEED MEDIATION LEGISLATION? This is a good topical question – but not an easy one. At first blush, as mediators, there seems a simple answer. We want mediation to flourish. Surely a law that facilitates, supports and regulates a dispute resolution process which has grown exponentially in use in the last decade could only consolidate further growth. However, a closer look suggests that mediation legislation might hamper the development of mediation. In the United States, Benjamin1 questions whether the recent Uniform Mediation Act 2001 is a Trojan Horse carrying within its belly notions that are likely to significantly alter the original...
Published in Law Talk, 1998 Written by Deborah Clapshaw & David Hurley Read the article here. ...
Published in Law Talk, June 1997 Written by Deborah Clapshaw & David Hurley Read the article online....