The just-released issue of the Journal of International Ombudsman Association looks at the concerns and challenges of solo Ombuds practice. (Many of the issues apply to other ADR sole practitioners.)  Editor, and solo practitioner himself, David Miller explains:

As if it were not difficult enough being in the centre of other people's storms, holding fast to principled interventions when interests and positions generate vortices of confusion and distress, so many…

Jumping to conclusions can easily cause or perpetuate a conflict situation. This idiom – jumping to conclusions – refers to a tendency to assume something as negative when there is not necessarily a reason to do so. Conclusions may be about another person’s character, motives, attitude, and rationale. This sort of thinking may come from the habitual inclination to think the worst, to not trust ourselves or others, to let our insecurities and fears take over, and so on.

There are…

The General Meeting of the NJAPM next week will offer an "Intro to Ombuds: the Profession & the People." Organizers promise a panel of distinguished Ombuds featuring IOA President Nicholas Diehl. In addition, there will be briefing on the new ABA Ombuds Task Force. NJAPM is the largest New Jersey mediation organization with over 450 members, and is the only organization in New Jersey that accredits mediators.

The event takes place at the New Jersey Law Center in New…

The Texas Conflict Coach® Blog Talk Radio announces the following episodes starting in the month of  December, held every Tuesday night from 7:00-7:30 pm CST/8:00-8:30 pm EST.  Please enjoy these previous recorded podcasts.  We will return live every Tuesday night beginning January 8, 2013.  Enjoy the Holidays!

To Listen to our Pre-Recorded Podcasts, click on the designated link for each one.

December 4th :   Family Holiday Conflict - Getting…

Does your family argue or fight about money or finances during the Holidays? Expectations about what kinds of gifts to buy, how much you can afford to spend on travel or even when siblings or other family members ask for money can cause conflict. Dave and Pattie will talk about some of the causes of Holiday financial conflicts, some strategies to keep from being…

Cyberweek 2012 – Take 2: Return of the online mediation competition!

Noam Ebner- We’ve been missing a…

We’ve been missing a good, full-blown ODR tournament for several years now. No more! Cyberweek 2012’s eMediation competition provided the goods, and more. Organizer Katrina Nobles paints a picture of this tournament.

Compared with the ADR scene, in which negotiation and mediation competitions at the national and international level are proliferating (for example, see this description of a competition I participated in…

In this blog post, I describe a conflict between me and my nephew.  It turns out everyone can slip into the vicious cycle of weakness and self-absorption.

I grew up in North Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, then a blue-collar steel town, population 2,000-ish.  The nearby steel mill is now a…

After a conflict is ostensibly over, we often forget what the other person said. It may be that is was inconsequential to us and so, we dismiss it. We may not retain what was said due to the need to move on and to put things behind us. We may have blocked it because it was unbelievable, too painful to hear, too bizarre according to our version of the events, or it felt blameful and retaliatory and not something we want to remember. It may be the case that our voice took up the air space and…

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The holidays bring together families with long-held traditions, customs and celebrations. These holiday traditions are founded in our roots…our cultural identity, religious beliefs, and family values. The customs and traditions are sacred. But what happens when two families merge a multi-cultural or interracial marriage? Each family brings with them their own cultural expectations with different values and priorities. The pressures to conform and to honor those traditions…

Originally posted at mediationbytes.wordpress.com November 19, 2012

At the bankruptcy court's urging, Hostess and the Baker's Union agreed to mediation to avoid the liquidation of Hostess and the loss of an estimated 18,000 jobs.  But is it really a mediation? The judge hearing the case, Judge Robert D. Drain, will be the mediator.  The mediation is tomorrow.  If they do not agree, court resumes Wednesday.

This is really not mediation, is it?

First of all,…

ODR: Bigger and better, year after year!

Noam Ebner offers a witty and comprehensive overview of Cyberweek 2012, a weeklong series on events and articles on…

Cross-posted from Russ Beamer:

Remember last summer how the New York Times and Boston Globe headline writers couldn’t figure out the difference between mediators and arbitrators?

If you do, you may also remember that List Serv master Maria R. Volpe had some thoughts on the situation and the state of the public perception of ADR.

Gathering those thoughts was a great reason to get her back into our pages after too long an…

Yes, with the title I deserve to be writing headlines for the NY Post, and no, I am not lying I'm just referring to the President of India.  People on the Greater New York area dispute resolution community listserv recently had a great discussion on the media's lack of knowledge between the difference of mediation and arbitration.…

How mediation can help families in crisis...

I invite you to read a heart warming letter from a volunteer mediator working in the slums of Nairobi!

I hope some of these tips are helpful to people going through divorce or other difficult transitions in their lives.

how to neutralize the effects of fear

[To read this post in Spanish, see the first comment down below! Thanks to Dr. Alberto Elisavetsky]

 This year, Cyberweek - the annual conference on Online Dispute Resolution - was held once again on ADRHub, the web portal for the ADR community maintained by the…

Interpersonal disputes are multi-layered and an onion is an apt metaphor to describe the many dimensions of conflict. An onion also reflects the many layers of the other person and of us. Our hearts and brains, our spiritual being, our bodies are all parts of us that are effected when we are in conflict. Each layer adds to the mystery and confusion conflict creates inside us.

Though we may come to our disputes with historical experiences that have built on one another, each new…