Category Archives: Learnings from Mediation

Learning About Mediation from Being a Participant

January 22, 2013 – 1:47 pm

I had a unique mediation opportunity to last week: I was a participant (defense attorney) in a mediation. Here are eight things I learned about mediation: 1. It can be useful for the mediator to meet with the attorneys just before the start of the mediation. This gave the mediator an opportunity to hear each […]

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Michigan’s New Mediator Standards of Conduct Approved

December 29, 2012 – 2:55 pm

After three years and several iterations, the new Standards of Conduct for Mediators have been approved by Michigan’s State Court Administrator, and will go into effect February 1, 2013. I’ve been involved with this project from the beginning, and it’s been an interesting ride. I blogged about it in November 2011, and again in May […]

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Waive party opening statements? Never!

March 1, 2010 – 3:31 pm

Here’s a reason why to not allow parties to waive their opening statements: I did a mediation recently involving a partnership breakup. In pre-mediation, it appeared that the issues would concern a buy-out of the departing partner, as well as a non-compete. But in the mediation, when it was the plaintiff’s turn to give his […]

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