Articles 2020

A mediation should only be explored after litigation is commenced. In many cases, however, the right time to mediate is prior to filing a lawsuit.

What is cultural competency? Living in a country such as Canada, which boasts a large and culturally diverse population, how do we ensure that our practices (as lawyers or mediators) be inclusive for clients, while embodying the values of cultural competency? This article offers some thoughts and answers to these questions.

Reaching the end of a mediation session and learning that you and the other side are far apart in your settlement position can be disappointing. In the following weeks, after the dust settles, the mediator may follow up with you to see if positions have softened, or if there is a new way of resolving the dispute. However, despite everyone’s best efforts, there may still be an impasse. This article offers some tips on how to get past that impasse.

S. 1 of the Arbitration Act 1991 provides that an arbitration agreement is “an agreement by which two or more parties agree to submit arbitration a dispute which has or may arise between them”. The failure to properly describe the obligations of the parties in an agreement can completely frustrate the purpose of the agreement.

Mediation is an interesting alternative to court that provides an arena for a unique interplay between the parties, and the dimensions of their dispute. The mediator exerts an influence that can significantly impact the outcome of the mediation process. Where two mediators are present (as is the case in the co-mediation model), there is a significant opportunity for even greater success…or self-sabotage!

A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision that has the employment law bar abuzz is a lesson for all lawyers (and mediators) about the limits to both our knowledge and our powers of prediction.

The use of the joint session in mediation has been a hot topic of study and debate in recent years. I have weighed in on the discussion. In June 2015, I questioned whether the joint session was a help or a hindrance and then in December 2015 I revisited the debate to offer my thoughts on why the joint session remains an important part of the mediation process.