Mediation

A negotiation between two or more parties facilitated by an agreed-upon third party. Skilled third-party mediators can lower the emotional temperature in a negotiation, foster more effective communication, help uncover less obvious interests, offer face-saving possibilities for movement, and suggest solutions that the parties might have overlooked. (David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius, 3-D Negotiation [Harvard Business School Press, 2006], 108-109)

The following items are tagged Mediation.

Equal Time in Mediation

Posted by & filed under Mediation.

Some scientists have long tried to identify the key drivers of success in resolving disputes. Several factors have been proposed: individualized contact that goes beyond the superficial, equal status among parties, commitment to a common goal, and institutional support. Studies have shown that when such conditions are met, parties’ attitudes toward one another often improve.

Other scholars have questioned the significance of such research, however, noting that changes in reported attitudes do not necessarily result in different behavior. This holds true whether the disputants are spouses, neighbors, or a company’s management and its employees.

Mediation in Transactional Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Mediation.

We generally think of mediation as a dispute-resolution device. Federal mediators intervene when collective bargaining breaks down. Diplomats are sometimes called in to mediate conflicts between nations.

So-called multi-door courthouses encourage litigants to mediate before incurring the costs – and risks – of going to trial.

Scott R. Peppet, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder, Colo., reports that mediation may be quietly creeping into transactional negotiation, or traditional deal-making, as well.

Mediation in Transactional Negotiation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

We generally think of mediation as a dispute-resolution device. Federal mediators intervene when collective bargaining bogs down. Diplomats are sometimes called in to mediate conflicts between nations. So-called multidoor courthouses encourage litigants to mediate before incurring the costs – and risks – of going to trial.

Scott R. Peppet, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder, Colorado, reports that mediation may be quietly creeping into transactional negotiation, or traditional dealmaking, as well. In Peppet’s survey of 122 practicing mediators, 48 reported having been involved in deals ranging from $100,000 to $26 million in value.

Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Workshop

Posted by & filed under DRD Tag Pages.

Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Workshop
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL

FALL 2012

Instructor:
Mr. Chad Carr

This 1-credit seminar is the required classroom component for students doing work through the Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program during the Fall of 2012. Students will read and discuss works related to the various models for conducting conflict assessments, designing dispute systems,

Negotiating Systems

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

While most negotiation research aims to sharpen individual managers’ skills, there is growing scholarly and professional interest in an organizational approach to negotiation.A systemic perspective evaluates the training, authority, procedures, and resources that manager need to improve their companies’ “return on negotiation,” as consultant Danny Ertel puts it. Looking at negotiations broadly reveals important design questions.

Frank Sander Honored at American Bar Association 14th Annual Spring Conference

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

With beautiful weather outside and the cherry blossom season in full bloom, over 1000 attendees filled the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section’s conference halls as it held its 14th annual conference in Washington, D.C.

On Saturday, April 21, the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution honored Frank Sander, A.B., LL.B., Bussey Professor of Law Emeritus and Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School faculty member, for his outstanding scholarly work in the field of dispute resolution.

The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution, Events, Student Events, Students.

“The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts”
with
Dr. Peter T. Coleman
Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution
and Professor of Psychology and Education
at Columbia University
 
When: Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Time: 12 – 1 p.m.

Where: Wasserstein Hall, Room B10, Harvard Law School Campus
Please bring your lunch. Drinks and desserts provided.
One

Systems Thinking and Peacebuilding: A New Frontier?

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution, Daily, Events, International Negotiation, Student Events, Students.

“Systems Thinking and Peacebuilding: A New Frontier?”
with
Robert Ricigliano
Director of the Institute of World Affairs,
Center for International Education
at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
 
When: Thursday, April 5, 2012

Time: 12 – 1:15 p.m.

Where: Wasserstein Hall, Room 2009, Harvard Law School Campus
Please bring your lunch. Drinks and desserts provided.
Policymakers, practitioners, and academics have seized on

Moving Forward in Mediation Together

Posted by & filed under Mediation.

The teacher’s federation has qualms with the current education bill’s stipulations regarding the scheduling and terms for mediation between the federation and provincial government. The government is open to further negotiations, but refuses to offer more money. Susan Lambert, president of the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation, asserts that the government is acting in bad faith, claiming the “whole process is a mockery of fair play…There is a predetermined outcome that requires us to be complacent in stripping out of our collective agreement rights that [the employers tried to take out] at the bargaining table, rights that took a long time to negotiate.” Could mediation unlock value between these parties that was previously left untouched, even though one side has little faith in the process?

Planting the Seeds of Peace

Posted by & filed under Middle East Negotiation Initiative, Negotiation Skills.

Tucked away in an idyllic corner of Maine is a summer camp that features many traditional American activities: singing around bonfires, flag raising ceremonies, Color Wars, and chilly dips in the lake. Less ordinary, however, are the daily dialogue sessions, where Israeli and Palestinian campers heatedly discuss their identities, homelands, politics, and pain.

Meet Seeds of Peace, the organization that runs this one-of-a-kind camp – and our client organization for a very unique clinical project. We – Krystyna Wamboldt (JD ’12), Rachel Krol (JD ’12), and Professor Robert Bordone (JD ’97) – partnered with Seeds of Peace to lead a skills-building workshop for the organization’s older youth, focused on interests-based, problem-solving negotiation.

As part of the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP), our three person team traveled to Jerusalem in January 2012 to teach negotiation and mediation skills to a group of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers, all former campers at Seeds of Peace. For three days, the “Seeds” did a range of activities, including several role-plays and active listening exercises. On the final day of the program, the students put their new skills to use in a group negotiation simulation about the conflict in Northern Ireland.

“It was incredible to look around the room and see both Palestinian and Israelis working together during the Ireland simulation,” said Rachel. “It was a challenging negotiation, yet they were communicating effectively, asking questions, listening to each other, and asserting their own interests while working towards a common goal. It was a wonderful sight!”