mediation news
·
Core Conference a Resounding Success
·
Corporate
and Law Firm Policy Statement2
Core
Conference a Resounding Success
- “Many thanks for a
great day yesterday. It certainly went well beyond my expectations…”
- “Well done on putting
together such an interesting cast of speakers. I thoroughly enjoyed the
day and have gone away full of energy!”
- I
thought it was a great success. You brought together such a variety of
people which was really interesting...”
- “If yesterday's
Conference does not engender enthusiasm for the concept of Mediation then
nothing will! I thought that yesterday could not have gone any better...”
These unsolicited comments indicate that our Conference on Monday
15 November was a success! 124 people gathered at the Royal Society in
Edinburgh to participate in the conference “Expanding Mediation in Business,
Organisations and the Professions”. They were entertained by three outstanding
presentations by guest speakers, Michael Leathes, Miryana Nesic and Judge
Alistair Macduff. Each speaker, in different
ways, captured the audience’s imagination with provocative and thoughtful
contributions.
The speakers challenged us to push out the boundaries of what is
conventionally thought of as “mediation”, as we looked at “deal mediation”,
business benefits and the design of dispute systems in organisations, as well
as mediation where litigation is underway or in prospect.
The conference chairman, Sir David Edward, in his closing
summary, contrasted mediation with other new initiatives which had come and
gone over the years, and expressed the view that “mediation is not a fad”.
Over 50 participants attended a demonstration of mediation in
action at the start of the day. The remarkable cross-section of people from the
professions, public sector, government, commerce and industry ensured that a
wide-range of views were offered in the 5 workshop
groups. Topics included:
·
health: the Scottish
Executive's pilot mediation scheme for clinical negligence cases commencing 1
April 2005; new complaints procedure, through the Office of the Public Services
Ombudsman; proposal for pre-action protocol to assist management of cases
·
insurance: funding; awareness
amongst trades unions and insurers and their representative organisations;
Legal Aid issues and the revised guidelines; Core’s proposed new Personal
Injury scheme; a pre-action protocol; the need for a judicial champion; changes
to rules of court
·
construction: the need for industry
champions; recognition of best value and partnering; the role of institutions;
the value of a rule of court to give confidence; mediation clauses in contracts
·
workplace: the need for education
that the soft issues are often hardest to address; mediator standards and
independence; the role of internal and external mediators; strategic,
collective and individual initiatives; questions of access and funding
·
commercial:
the value of professional rules, professional protocols or guidelines for
lawyers; a rule of court requiring parties to consider mediation as an option,
with a supporting audit trail; a comparative study of the cost of judicial time
and the use of the courts for civil litigation; the role of education and the
need for top-down leadership
We intend to produce a summary of the ideas and proposals which
were fed back into the conference from the groups and to circulate this in due
course.
The Sunday Herald, the Evening News and the Herald on the day of
the conference all carried news items.
Our grateful thanks go to Lindsay Adams, of Adams Associates, for
her help in organising the conference and to the Core team led by Lynne Davies
and Daniel Gunn for their excellent administration and preparation.
Survey Results
At the conference, we announced the results of a pre-conference
survey to which over 50% of those attending had responded. The results are of
considerable interest to view them please click here.
Corporate and Law Firm Policy Statements
Core launched a new initiative to encourage
businesses, organisations and law firms to commit to using negotiation,
mediation and other collaborative approaches to resolve disputes wherever appropriate.
The Corporate and Law Firm Policy Statements are easy to understand and to
implement and offer a real opportunity for leadership and encouragement of
non-adversarial ways to deal with differences. Click here to
view and download the Corporate Policy Statement and here for the Law Firm
version.
New Core Initiatives
·
The Panel
Core Mediation has launched
its enhanced panel of mediators, coaches and facilitators. Please click here to view.
·
Special Schemes
Core has also
launched four new initiatives for particular sectors:
·
Core’s Construction Industry Panel of Mediators
and Facilitators
·
The Professional Practice Dispute Resolution Team
·
Core’s Personal Injury and Smaller Claims Schemes
·
Organisations and Workplace Initiative: Design,
Coach and Implement
Click here to read more.
Mediation Courses
·
How to Maximise the Use of
Mediation for Clients
Last chance to register for Friday 26 November
(Edinburgh).
A one day course for solicitors, counsel and others – If you would like to register please contact Lynne Davies now!
·
Mediation
Skills Training and Mediator Assessment
The next course takes
place in two modules: four days from 21 to 24 March 2005 and three days
from 13 to 15 April 2005.
The first module serves
as a full course in itself for those who wish to understand how to manage
conflict and differences in a variety of settings, from the workplace to
litigation to commerce, with special emphasis on the role of the mediator
The second (optional) module
leads to the Core Certificate of Competence in basic mediation skills.
The Early Bird Fee is available for those who register
before 30 November. If you would
like to register your interest, please contact Lynne Davies. To view the course
prospectus please click here
Click below to read previous editions of Core Mediation News
To view older editions of
Core News, please view our website
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about Core's activities, please contact Core or visit our
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be interested in it.
Our
opportunity is to transform the culture of conflict from coercion and
confrontation to consensus and
cooperation