IAM Blog

The word “ombudsman” comes from a Swedish term that dates back to 1809, when the Swedish parliament decided to protect citizens’ rights by establishing a supervisory agency independent of the government.

A few months ago, I spent a couple of days in and around Dublin, discussing an initiative on respectful political dialogue with politicians, academics and conflict resolution professionals. It was a privilege to spend time at Glencree...

Clients who are new to mediation may think it is not important, or is rude, to try to tell their own advocates what they expect them to do to prepare for mediation. It is, after all, the lawyer’s responsibility to do their job and to do it well.

Too often in mediation lawyers confront a familiar dilemma: Both sides have made offers and then offered concessions – but a huge gap remains between them. Everyone is frustrated, and no one wants to make a serious move in the face of the other’s intransigence....

What do you do if you are in a conversation – which may include a mediation – with someone who is adamant and strident about his or her values and beliefs? In today's polarized society, this is more likely to happen than ever before. How can you keep the exchange...

Frequently, disputes arise out of the different perspectives of the parties. Parties may observe the same facts but their perceptions of what happened and why may turn on where they stood, what role they were playing or what they were thinking at the time...

Conflicts in high-performance sports ("HPS") – those involving athletes competing at the national, international or professional levels – are typically tense and emotionally charged experiences for the athletes, coaches, and sports organizations involved.

Mediators are masters of listening. Conflict has a habit of turning conversations into competitions, with each statement feeling like a serve that you have to return in order to win a point. Mediators transform the purpose of these conversations from “winning” into...

Experienced mediators know that the resolution of disputes involves the people and the problem as much as the positions. At the same time, most parties will use as a benchmark for settlement decisions the expected results at trial should a dispute not be amicably resolved.

A closing workshop at an International Academy of Mediators conference was titled Transformative Moments in Mediation...