2017 January

Apology – pearl or pup?

Mediators make much of the value of apology in dispute resolution, but what does sorry mean and what should a mediator do with it? Often, it is part of the training - a whole session on apology and how important it is to acknowledge it and make sure the other party has heard it. Indeed, it’s not usual for one or both parties to enter a mediation insisting on an apology, so when the inexperienced mediator hears that, they think – bingo – my job’s done! I’ve always been [...]

Penelope Overton2018-12-08T12:42:59+00:0011 January 2017|Apology, dispute resolution, Mediation|Comments Off

Dry Ski Slope Gate

First published November 2012 The row between the parents of the boy who missed the birthday party remains at the top of the news agenda despite the obvious fact that it’s a) trivial beyond speaking, b) embarrassing all round, c) awful for the kids and d) absolutely pathetic. Why are we still talking about it? Because we love a bit of argy bargy; each of us is, despite ourselves, taking a view on who’s right, who’s wrong; some of us are marshalling our opinions on what we think of birthday parties on dry ski [...]

Penelope Overton2018-12-08T12:42:50+00:0010 January 2017|dispute resolution, Mediation|Comments Off

The Failed Mediation

First, let me say some mediations do fail. These are mediations were never going to result in agreement, resolution, or even a better understanding by the parties of their dispute. This might be for several reasons, but the commonest are that the mediator wasn't skilled and didn't do the job properly, and that the parties just weren't playing. But there's another outcome that is referred to as "failed" that is no such thing. This is the mediation (and I'm talking specifically civil and commercial here) that is set down for a [...]

Penelope Overton2017-01-09T15:52:44+00:009 January 2017|Mediation|Comments Off