Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 10:43am
With not much fanfare the pilot of Judicial Mediation rolls out from London, Birmingham and Newcastle Tribunals and onto the whole Tribunal circuit.
Welcome as this may be this is hardly going to lead to a widescale use of mediation in employment disputes. Indeed judicial mediation could be counter-productive.
Some reasons why judicial mediation will not really change much in the employment scheme are:
1 The fact that mediations will be geared towards discrimination c....
Thursday July 16, 2009 at 10:01am
I have just finished doing a mediation session for lawyers for MBL Seminars in London at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
As I often do in this session, we had a role play where one person acts as mediator and we see how the lawyers will get to grips with the scenario.
What was quite revealing is how counter-intutive the mediation process is to the lawyers namely the best approach to take is to be open with the mediator but obviously making it quite clear what you would a....
Tuesday July 7, 2009 at 5:54am
I read on a Chicago that the down economy is boosting mediation firms as more Chicago-area companies look to cut litigation costs. A practice long associated with personal injury, product liability and property damage suits is becoming more popular as a way to resolve commercial disputes. The trend also is getting a boost from an increasing number of construction, employment and other contracts that contain clauses specifying that disputes be mediated. Courts also are nudging more cases to media....
Monday July 6, 2009 at 1:38pm
So we read in the Observer a pay freeze should be imposed on Britain's six million public-sector workers, the head of the government's spending watchdog says today. He also accuses party leaders of failing to be honest with the public about the need for cuts, even in health and education. We learn that , Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, says he has not heard any politician admit that "severe pay restraint" is one of a number of measures necess....
Monday July 6, 2009 at 10:20am
Some good events worth attending as move bang into the Summer period.
The Entrepreneurs Board is a new product from the Academy for Chief Executives, which is all about helping business leaders keep at the forefront of both business and leadership skills in order to ensure both they and their businesses are performing at their best. The Academy has been in existence for over 13 years and is helping over 400 business leaders in the UK, and now US as well, to do this. Members of the Entrepreneurs....
Sunday July 5, 2009 at 3:38pm
Ambrose Evans-Pricthard of the Telegraph writes:
"The shocker last week was not just that the US lost 467,000 jobs in May, but also that time worked fell 6.9pc from a year earlier, dropping to 33 hours a week. "At no time in the 1990 or 2001 recessions did we ever come close to seeing such a detonating jobs figure," said David Rosenberg from Glukin Sheff. "We have lost a record nine million full-time jobs this cycle." Earnings have fallen at a 1.6pc annual rate ov....
Saturday July 4, 2009 at 7:30am
So according to the Telegraph, BT with 106,000 staff - is trying to save money as it struggles to cope with the impact of the recession. BT has proposed that employees take up to a year off, in return for taking a 75 per cent pay cut. To encourage as many workers to take up of the offer, the company will pay their reduced salary as an upfront cash payment. Parents are also being offered the opportunity to work only in school term times, so they can spend the summer holidays with their ....
Thursday July 2, 2009 at 10:09pm
I am a lawyer(solicitor) mediator.
In my experience many lawyers(And I count myself in this domain) who subsequently qualify as a mediator struggle initally with the techniques of being a mediator.
One concept which is difficult is the need to empathise with both(or maybe more) disputing parties. One client can be demanding enough but more than one......it can be pretty tough.
Another difficulty which some lawyers experience is that of eye contact. Us lawyers love our writing p....
Wednesday July 1, 2009 at 9:35am
Any lawyer worth his or her salt will want to keep reading to quality material to stay up to date with developments in the law and beyond.
A great resource is The Internet Newsletter For Lawyers by Nick Holmes and Delia Venables.
I have met both of them; They are good people. They attract strong loyalty in the legal profession.
The current edition includes:
1. Legal OnRamp is a collaboration system for in-house counsel and invited outside lawyers. There are now more than 8,000 mem....