Supporting Accountability in the Field of Mediation (original) (raw)

In Practice: Defining Mediator Knowledge and Skills

Negotiation Journal, 2001

A two-year collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and advisers from the major national organizations of mediators produced a job analysis relevant to mediators involved in interpersonal disputes (i.e., divorce, community, formal parent-child mediation, etc.). One byproduct of the job analysis is an extensive list of the knowledge areas and skills important to effective job performance. This essay defines the knowledge and skill areas that emerged from the analysis.

Evaluative mediation: In search of practice competencies

Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 2009

Although there is no shortage of literature on why mediators should be allowed to give evaluations and why parties in dispute allegedly want and need evaluations, there is a relative lack of empirical literature on the subject of what exactly qualifies as competent evaluative mediation practice. The author reviews existing literature to formulate a description of the behaviors that would be considered competent in evaluative mediation practice, and to open a discussion of the implications of these findings for such contemporary fieldwide conversations as defining quality mediation, establishing performance-based competency standards, distinguishing among approaches to practice, and exploring the relationship between underlying values and practice approaches.

Justice Quality and Accountability in Mediation Practice: A Report

2013

Changes in government policy have led to greatly increased use of mediation as a means of resolving disputes arising in family law, commercial law and civil matters in both courts and tribunals. State and Federal Attorneys-General have seen mediation as an important tool in improving access to justice for ordinary citizens. Ensuring mediation reflects values of the access to justice movement is a goal which policy makers, practitioners, courts and tribunals aspire to. In Victoria, the government has mandated ADR processes (including mediation), stating that the ‘civil litigation system has become out of balance and is increasingly unable to achieve essential goals of accessibility, affordability, proportionality, timeliness and getting to the truth quickly and easily.' Drawing on insights provided by practitioners, mediation service-providers and policy makers, tribunal members and magistrates, we explore the justice quality of mediation and comment on accountability within the ...

Mediation: Principles, Process, Practice (Canadian Edition)

1998

In the past twenty years mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) have seen a tremendous growth in use for the resolution of various types of conflict. In Mediation: Principles, Process, Practice, Laurence Boulle and Kathleen Kelly purport to discuss the basics of mediation for the increasing number of people in Canada who are studying and practicing mediation. In 1996, Laurence Boulle, a professor of law and director of the dispute resolution centre at Bond University in Queensland, wrote the first edition of this book, which concentrated primarily on mediation in Australia 1 • Kathleen J. Kelly, a lawyer and director of the Canadian Foundation for Dispute Resolution, has since updated the text and adjusted its focus to the experience of mediation in Canada, while at the same time maintaining many of the Australian examples for comparison. As the subtitle suggests, the book is divided into three parts: principles, process and practice. The first two parts remain largely the same as in Boulle's earlier Australian edition with some input from Kelly on principles and processes in Canada. The framework of the third part has also remained the same but Kelly has reshaped the content significantly to reflect Canadian practices. The first section of the book provides an interesting discussion of some of the many difficulties inherent in establishing a singular definition for mediation, given that there are many possible styles of mediation and many ways of defining terms such as "neutrality" and "voluntary" that are frequently used in describing mediation. There is also an in-depth discussion of some of the more common questions

To Be a Mediator: Expressive Tactics in Mediation

Journal of Social Issues, 1985

Labor mediators luck formal uuthority to compel parties to settle. What authority mediators do have emanates from their person. their behavior and skill, und the purties' ongoing ussessment of them during a case. These 'exprc>ssive" dimensions of mediation are latent feutures of the process, which makes them difficult to isolate und study. In this study, a dramaturgical frume~iork is applied to observational case data to identlfi u core of expressive tactics commonly used by mediators. These tuctics are organized around the theme of professional work. The findings suggest that mediators manage impressions of their expertise to ,frame settlements, impressions of their sociul position to convey neutrulity toward the parties und a shared collegial network with chief negotiators, and impressions of their Irgitimacy to establish reputations ,for uction und success. Contrasts in the wuys these tactics are used suggest tentritive postulates about the differential ways authority is mobilized in mediation. I gave them a blow-by-blow description of what I did. I don't know whether other mediators do that. 1 described what I did and what they said, their rationales. That way. I'm able to assure both sides that I am not just a messenger. They expect you to understand contracts. I have to show that I won't be kidded. I have to show that I've been around, that I have some knowledge of conimon practices. (Comment by a mediator) It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that the task of the mediator is a difficult one. Labor mediators lay no claim to unquestioned status or formal authority. They are outsiders to the dispute and have no power to compel its parties to resolve their differences. What direct and indirect influence mediators have emanates from their person, their reputation and skill, and the parties' ongoing assessment of them during the case. Although many of the mediators' The author wishes to thank Lotte Bailyn,

Competence as an element of “mediation readiness”

Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 2007

This article introduces a specific standard to the mediation community with the idea of sparking debate that would lead to a commonly accepted standard for competence to participate in mediation for divorce. It delineates the broad contours of an assessment process using the proposed standard and examines practical implications and next steps for mediators related to the establishment of a common standard. It then describes how the proposed standard could be incorporated in mediation trainings, model rules, and state statutes and regulations, leading to more uniform and equitable decisions and increasing the procedural fairness of divorce mediations within and across jurisdictions.

The Evolving Field of Mediation in the United States

Historically in the United States, we have used the court system as the way to settle disputes. As a society we are coming to recognize that this system is not working to our advantage and we are turning to mediation as a far superior method of resolving conflict. Within the last two decades, mediation has grown exponentially and continues to become entrenched in our schools, courts, businesses, governmental agencies - in every area of our lives.As mediation evolves as a profession, there are key issues and trends that you must be aware of and factor into your career planning in order to maximize your mediation practice.This article will focus on a few of the hot issues currently swirling in the field.