Articles 2020

How to efficiently execute a settlement agreement, virtually.

Many of us are experiencing the historic coronavirus-mandated “lockdown” in close, relentless companionship – of partners, children, or housemates. This presents an opportunity for closeness borne from the intensity of the experience, but also increases the chance of conflict from which it may be difficult to retreat. This article describes how to use a mediation tool to help deal with quarantine conflict.

In the current climate of physical distancing, mediating online using platforms like Zoom or Microsoft WebEx has gained prominence. Many mediators are well-equipped to offer their services using these platforms and to respond to concerns that counsel or their clients may have. As counsel consider whether or not to take their mediations online, certain factors will be relevant to the decision-making process.

Counsel today need to be comfortable mediating online or by teleconference with their parties if they’re to move files forward. You’d be surprised how much you can get accomplished with web or phone mediation, if you follow some best practices.

Decision Tree Analysis is simply a process of analyzing an issue on a step-by-step basis while applying the principles of probability.

There are two kinds of attribution that we apply every single day: dispositional attribution, and situational attribution. The former is when we view an internal characteristic such as a personality trait, as the explanation for behaviour. We do this often with other people. The latter is when we view situations, circumstances or environmental factors outside our control as an explanation for behaviour. We do this often with ourselves. How does this impact mediation and everyday life?

Third-party funding (“TPF”) has gained traction in several Canadian jurisdictions. An increasing number of counsel and parties alike appreciate the value of non-recourse legal financing and its role in alleviating financial burden and mitigating risk. Thanks to these and other advantages of TPF, it is no surprise that parties engaged in (voluntary and mandatory) mediation have been able to leverage their being funded in numerous ways.

Often parties describe a mediation process that does not result in a settlement as a failure. Focussing on the money spent preparing for the mediation, and for the Mediator’s fees, and on the time diverted from the litigation process, parties are typically blind to the myriad benefits of the mediation process itself, separate and apart from any resolution that may arise from it. Here are the top 10 benefits to the mediation process.

Twelve mediation advocacy tips for Ontario lawyers.

In the last number of years there has been a resurgence of interest in med-arb as a process that can be used outside family law and labour disputes. This article is brief overview of the med-arb process with a suggested model that should assist practitioners in using this dynamic process in appropriate cases.