Blog by Dr Mary Malecka and Abigail Holt of the Garden Court Mediation Team The value of mediation to commercial and civil disputes is that it enables parties to reframe their dispute in a holistic fashion that takes into account the cost of litigation. This includes the personal emotional investment, and the prospect of successfully moving on from the dispute, […]
The ‘BB3 Strategy’ Approach to a Mediated Negotiation
Author: Dr Mary Malecka A few years ago it cost me an arm and a leg to go to Boston and spend a week at Harvard law school for the program on negotiation course. Now, post-pandemic, everything is available online, and I recently had a day with William Ury and a small cohort of other […]
When Mediation Did = Dispute Resolution
In 1972 David Watkinson, while a pupil of Lord Anthony Gifford in Cloisters, met Stephen Sedley with whom Lord Anthony shared a room. Here, David considers the origin of dispute resolution and traces it back further than you may think.
Mandatory (alternative) dispute resolution? That old chestnut ….
Abigail Holt considers the potential of the Civil Justice Council’s report, ‘Compulsory ADR‘ which says ‘ADR can no longer be treated as external, separate, or indeed alternative to the court process’.
It can pay to mediate
Helen Curtis explores the circumstances when the Legal Aid Agency (‘LAA’) will fund mediation in civil cases.
Confidentiality/Mediation and the Courts……something lingering
Introduction David Watkinson considers recent developments concerning two issues on which he has previously blogged. First, the Court of Appeal’s decision in Berkeley Square holdings Ltd v Lancer Property Management Ltd and second, the ongoing debate about the value of mediation being made mandatory.
Advantages to Choosing to Mediate a Civil or Commercial Dispute Remotely
Members of GCM have been successfully mediating by telephone for some time. It has been considered a second-best option where costs and distance prevented the preferred option of a face to face, three room mediation in attractive rooms in Chambers. Dr Mary Malecka posts how over the past few months it has become apparent, that […]
Silence Glistens No More
David Watkinson considers the cost implications of not engaging with an invitation to mediate as decided by Mr Justice Griffiths in DSN v Blackpool Football Club [2020] EWCA 670 (QB) Introduction A number of blogs on this site have dealt with the costs consequences of failing to engage with mediation. The law has developed incrementally putting […]
Legally Binding Agreements
Three pieces of news before autumn: heads of terms agreed at a mediation were found to constitute a legally binding contract between the parties in the Abberley case; the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is running a ‘proof of concept’ pilot as it decides whether to introduce formal mediation as one of its routes to dispute resolution […]
Mediation: Participation
On 4th June 2019, two important reports were launched. Margaret Doyle’s report A Place at the Table focuses on the participation of young people with SEND in the mediation process and Charlotte May’s Court of Protection: Mediation Research considers how mediation can be used for adults who lack mental capacity to make a specific decision.