Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mediation in 2011

January 7, 2011 – 5:10 pm

Some of the rules governing mediation in Michigan may change in 2011. As I mentioned in November, Michigan’s court rule on mediation was adopted in 2000 and has not been amended since then. A new Court Rule on Confidentiality in mediation is being considered. The current rule (MCR 2.411(C)(5)) is two paragraphs; the proposed rule is […]

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Confidentiality in Mediation

November 22, 2010 – 2:49 pm

Michigan’s Court Rule on mediation is now ten years old. The provision on confidentiality in mediation has proven to be both too broad in some ways, and too narrow in others. In November 2008, the State Court Administrative Office convened a committee to recommend changes to the court rule on mediation confidentiality. The committee members […]

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Musings on Christian Arbitration

September 13, 2010 – 10:14 pm

Having done two arbitrations in the last month, I’m reflecting on some troubling aspects of Christian arbitration. How can a witness be cross-examined to cast doubt on credibility, without violating  biblical commands to love one another? Should a Christian arbitrator permit cross-exam that dredges up dark incidents in the witness’s past, for the sole purpose […]

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Partisan Arbitrators

August 10, 2010 – 4:56 pm

A common way to compose an arbitration panel is for each party to select an arbitrator, then those two select the third arbitrator. The arbitrators selected by the parties may be neutral, or partisan. Marty Weisman, a respected Michigan attorney and arbitrator, has written about the challenges associated with party-appointed arbitrators (e.g., in an article […]

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Mediation in the U.S. Government

July 14, 2010 – 4:03 pm

I just did two mediation workshops at the EEOC’s Excel conference, held this year in Orlando, Florida. I have now become acquainted, though not yet familiar, with all the mediation that takes place within the Federal government. It sounds like most federal agencies have mediation programs in place, replete with trained, experienced mediators, including military […]

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