NCJ Number
96680
Date Published
1984
Length
36 pages
Annotation
Four panelists at a mediation conference offer their views concerning what mediators can learn from each other.
Abstract
James Healy, President of the Association of Labor Relations and a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, contends that innate ability rather than acquired skills makes good arbitrators. Healy explains that mediators must be persuasive, able to comprehend the facts, and knowledge about labor relations. Daniel Reisel, a law firm partner who specializes in the practice of environmental law and litigation, discusses the kinds of environmental disputes that are susceptible to mediation. He gives examples of cases that were successfully and unsuccessfully mediated and offers reasons for the successes and the failures. Reisel notes that mediators must be able to make the parties to the dispute feel as though they do not have the unilateral ability to affect the outcome without great costs, and they must be able to quantify facts and data to ensure that there is a common basis for proceeding. Finally, mediators must be respected by both parties. Richard Salem, an independent practitioner, mediator, and negotiator, emphasizes that mediators must have good listening skills and must be able to listen empathetically. Additionally, mediators need a good sense of timing. Adriane Berg, an attorney with extensive practice in matrimonial law and divorce mediation, concludes that divorce mediators have two weapons: they can delve seriously into the family's finances, and they can use the family's pace and needs to direct the mediation. One table is included.