IAM Blog

Jeff Trueman, IAM Distinguished Fellow jt@jefftrueman.com This is part two in a series of three articles. To review or read Part One, click here. In order to understand the emotions and rationality of others, mediators must first understand their own emotions and...

Jeff Trueman, IAM Distinguished Fellow jt@jefftrueman.com Employment law disputes can be tough to settle. These disputes center not only on employment practices, but also on deeply held personal views of worth, honor, and status. Parties draw “lines in the sand”...

Jan Frankel Schau, IAM Distinguished Fellow jfschau@schaumediation.com It’s 4:00 P.M. and the parties have struggled all day to reach a hard-fought agreement.  Typically, at that point, the parties themselves take a walk, begin to breathe the fresh air, catch up on...

Sheldon Stark, IAM Distinguished Fellow shel@starkmediator.com (This is the third and final segment of the article.  Part 1 discussed Party Expectations as Barrier and suggested that mediators should offer a productive reframing, while Part 2 focused on Mediators’...

Sheldon Stark, IAM Distinguished Fellow shel@starkmediator.com (This is the second of three segments.  Part 1 discussed Party Expectations as Barrier and suggested that mediators should offer a productive reframing, while Part 3 will focus on the key roles of...

Sheldon Stark, IAM Distinguished Fellow shel@starkmediator.com (In this 3-part article, the first part below suggests that mediators should address party expectations directly and offer a productive and trustworthy reframing.  Part 2 discusses Mediators’ Many Hats...

Rande Sotomayor, IAM Fellow rande@sotomayorlaw.com This Spring, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, 856 years old, burned. We know that much of the iconic structure has been destroyed. We do not yet know all the details of how the fire started or why, but the glorious...

By: Alicia Kuin (IAM Fellow), Lisa Amato (IAM Mentee) and Susan Hammer (IAM Distinguished Fellow, Emerita) As indicated in The Value of Mentorship, Part 1: Reflections on My Journey from IAM Mentee to IAM Fellow, IAM mentorship has been the defining professional...

By: Alicia Kuin (IAM Fellow, akuin@yorkstreet.ca) At the 2013 IAM Conference in Toronto, the IAM launched a mentorship program and inducted me as one of the organization’s first mentees. This was a pivotal moment in my mediation career, and I want to share with you...

Members of the International Academy of Mediators feel privileged to be peers with many of the most knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated mediators in the world. Many of us, though, may not be sure of the process for becoming an IAM member. What exactly is the process for joining? And what are the minimum requirements for membership? Bringing qualified new members into the Academy is important to encourage diversity, for long-term sustainability of the organization, and to rejuvenate our collective spirit. We all appreciate having been recruited to join. We now hope to pay that forward in a way that will enable IAM to continue to thrive for decades to come.