IAM Blog

How do mediators actually work? Tom’s recent article titled “Insights on Mediator Practices and Perceptions,” outlines three areas of apparent regional divergence in mediation practice, arising out of the 2014 survey conducted by the IAM and the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine School of Law

Insurance coverage disputes can be the subject of their own lawsuits. But more often – to the surprise of an unsuspecting mediator or attorney – they exist in the background of non-insurance cases and can sidetrack or derail settlement. It doesn’t have to be that way with some planning before a mediation session begins.

When preparing for mediation, most parties establish benchmarks for settlement. After assessing the likely risks and costs of litigation, most parties identify settlement ranges and many establish tentative “bottom lines.” Often these assessments are unconsciously influenced by limitations in our five senses and the way we process information, collectively called “cognitive barriers.”

Over the past 30 years, there has been an explosion in the use of mediation.

So much of our work as mediators is focused on listening. We go to school to learn how. We probe the psychology. We take advanced seminars in mindful listening and picking up cues and listening with our eyes and our instinct.

About a year ago something weird happened at a mediation. Really weird. All the lawyers and parties were under 40.

Mediators playing small do not serve the world. Shrinking to accommodate the insecurities or sensitivities or systems of others does not help us to address the real issues.

We are wired to resist radical changes. Risk aversion is a profound instinct; maintenance of the status quo usually feels preferable. Inertia is so familiar - and so comfortable.

There is danger when speaking in generalities as if one had access to some sort of universal truth. What I say here is a reflection of how I see things.

Being a mediator is one of the most interesting, fulfilling, challenging and fun careers that you can be lucky enough to be paid to do. It is wonderful to be paid to do something many people will do for free.