Northwest Mediation
Commercial Mediation and Individual Dispute Resolution

After last week’s reference to Guinness we start this week in Ireland with Angela Kerins former head of the Rehab Group in Ireland who is appealing to the Irish government to enter mediation to deal with her claim for damages. Her claim arises out of her treatment by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee. She alleges the questioning over her own expenses, pay and that of other Rehab members was little more than a with-hunt to oust her from office. She is claiming for loss of e

It’s helpful to have some basic guidance on any type of workplace mediation, and here Forbes suggests 12 things to do (and some not to do) when dealing with disputes as a manager, my favourite being “don’t mediate” by which they mean try to help the people sort it out themselves. Mediation is ideal when you either don’t want to or can’t ”sort it out” yourself. At Northwest Mediation we have a high level of success in dealing with many types of dispute where parties have come

The results of intercultural mediators in action are reviewed in this World Health Organisation report from is Health Evidence Network. It may seem obvious that having intercultural mediators (that is mediators with cultural knowledge of all the cultures involved in a mediation) involved in any dispute will help, and certainly I’ve always found that having a connection and understanding with people involved in disputes is always important. But this report has examined the ro

It’s mediation awareness week and whilst I applaud the intent, I harbour doubts about the effectiveness, outside of our own industry and anywhere north of London you’ll struggle to know that this week occurs. All the events are London-centric, something which the CMC has bemoaned previously (just before having all conferences in London) and the list of all the events on the MAG website doesn’t help dispel the feeling that it’s an elite group. For the record we, mediators, are

I’ve been thinking a lot about the uniforms we wear whether actual or simply dress code in different situations, how we put on a different “uniform” depending on where we are and with whom we are dealing. My mother (the Revd J) always tells me how people react differently to her when she has her dog collar on as they recognise the “uniform” of a vicar, likewise when I’m in court or advising on legal matters I tend to wear suit and tie as a mark of respect for the client but

As the home based mediation this morning revolved around the question “why do you feel your wish for a lift to school with your friends takes precedence over your brother’s wish?” is ended by the win-win of “you can all walk” it’s good for their health, the planet in general and me, we have a quick jaunt further afield than Manchester to look at current mediation stories. Lots of US stories seem to start with “the county” taking issue with the “city”, I know it’s a convenient

There are said to be three pillars in mediation, sometimes shorthand refers to them as VIP, voluntary (at least theoretically), impartiality (of the mediator) and private (everything said and one is confidential off the record and without prejudice). Now a case in California (which has previously applied confidentiality in mediation as widely as possible even to the detriment of possible claims in negligence against legal advisers for advice given in mediation) says that even

I’ve been out and about the last few weeks working with employers and also having a short break in the Forest Of Dean (yes Cinderford, you should have mediated and not killed the bears). During my time off I’ve been considering the strengths of a mediator and today I was listening to Radio 4 discussing an interesting book by Mark O'Connell name called the “Courage of Ambivalence”. In a world which is increasingly bi-partisan it was good to hear Mark talking about the strength

It’s all international mediation news this week. The big two (China and the US) and fifty two other countries are prepared to sign a treaty which will make enforcing mediation settlements across borders easier. As we are forced by a minority government to move towards little Britain mentality it is good to see that other countries recognise that making sure mediation works across borders is incredibly important. “These are large economies. They have very big investments overs

I couldn’t resist referencing the Commander Of Cheese’s latest attempt to proclaim himself the great mediator, and causing more damage in the process. As a mediator you quickly learn that what and how you say anything to any prospective party is important, but suggesting you’ve been appointed by one party who then has to publish a denial is pretty much the worst I’ve seen. The Chief Cheeto made the comments while sat next to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan. India has re

A big question for most people approaching mediation is, when do I mediate? The simple answer is – whenever you’re ready. Really, the sooner the better but there’s a case this week showing it’s never too late even right up to when you’re waiting for judgment to be handed down. In the case of a former doctor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre mediation has continued to be used even after an application for judgment has been submitted, now granted it’s only a summa

Being independent is a corner stone of being a good mediator, if you have a vested interest int eh outcome (direct or indirect) it is impossible for the parties to trust you and for you to be effectively mediating. In the middle east this week Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to begin acting as “mediator” between Iran and the US. It’s a step believed to be at the behest of self-proclaimed expert mediator, commander of cheese and tweeter in chief Donald Trump. It’s a crit

Spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones:- In the much anticipated (by some) final episode of the HBO series (which received mixed reviews) Bran (now titled “the Broken”) doesn’t want to be king and appoints a reluctant Tyrion as his Hand. You don’t need to have read any of the books or seen the series to recognise that in this situation it feels like everybody loses (except HBO) and that is the antithesis of what mediation aims for, both parties unhappy with the outcome. Now I’m n

I was all ready to get on my high horse and start shouting when I read the title of this article, however the second paragraph took the wind out of the sails of the SS Righteous Indignation as Conna A Weiner says “I posit that requiring business parties on the brink of litigation to hit a controlled mediation pause button with the help of a business-oriented mediator and the right process and participants almost always makes sense”. Thank goodness for that I can now read thi

In the far east Vietnam’s the Supreme People’s Court is drafting a law to strengthen the use of mediation and dialogue at court. The draft order will include all civil cases, family as expected but also (as Northwest Mediation deals) business, trade, industrial relations and administrative cases. The law will require the parties to engage in mediation before allowing proceedings to move forward to a court hearing and then only if the parties agree. Which makes it sounds like

Whilst Northwest Mediation can’t calm Storm Gareth (named after my brother) which currently rages outside and hasn’t been asked to help Parliament with its struggles with what next for Brexit we can help pour oil on troubled waters in many other ways. Northwest Mediation has been helping business and individual clients for four years reach settlements they can live with and move forward. As with Brexit many disputes that arrive at our door start with an examination of what’s

Road traffic personal injury claims were where I cut my teeth as a young lawyer, in the years since I’ve often wondered why mediation is so little used in all forms of personal injury claims, I’d used round tables and informal mediation on numerous occasions leading up to the final decision to change role and become a mediator. So it’s no surprise that in New Delhi that a quorum led by Justice A.K. Sikri (who also stepped down from the Supreme Court this week) has asked law m

Land and property mediation takes up a lot of time and effort, if you look on the Case Studies page you’ll see one case I was tangentially involved in where the plot involved was about the size of a shed but the costs ended up being in excess of 40,000 because the parties did not go to mediation, and still had to live next door to each other. And so in New Delhi where the Supreme Court has ordered the parties in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case attend mediat

The union Unite (the US one not the one over here) and Prospect are going into mediation with State of Jersey’s employment board to resolve their long standing pay dispute. There have been protests by nurses and teachers last week (on Saturday so as not to interrupt school) over the below inflation pay settlement thus far offered. As with many employment issues it often takes drastic action for people to take notice of problems which may have been simmering away for many year

Lewiston airport has been taken over by the City of Lewiston, many airport users and local residents are unhappy about the process and so now Nez Perce County Commissioners and prosecutors are going to meet in mediation to try and resolve the issues. The airport is jointly owned by the city and the county and there is a hope that open and frank discussions which mediation allows will pave the way to the two sides reaching an amicable solution. From the skies above to the wate