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Home / Sections / Alternative Dispute Resolution / Articles

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Explore the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Articles. Have an article to submit? We’d love to hear from you!

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Neutral Diversity in Ontario - Profiling Select Diverse ADR Practitioners

Diana W. Dimmer | April 24, 2025

The OBA ADR Executive wants to continue the work of improving Neutral diversity in Ontario. As part of that we will be using the OBA-ADR newsletter to profile select diverse Neutrals so that OBA members and others gain greater familiarity with these diverse ADR practitioners. We have chosen Jennifer Egsgard as our next diverse Neutral to profile. Jennifer is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators and a Harvard-trained mediator.

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Neutral Diversity in Ontario - Profiling Select Diverse ADR Practitioners

Diana W. Dimmer and Tamryn Jacobson | June 19, 2024

In this article, the authors interview Afsana Gibson-Chowdhury, an experienced mediator who has been actively involved in improving Neutral Diversity in Ontario.

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Race with the Machine: A Review of Online Dispute Resolution by Colm Brannigan and Marc Bhalla

Matthew Gordon | April 12, 2024

A review by Matthew Gordon, a Toronto-based litigator with experience resolving civil, administrative, labour, employment and constitutional disputes and the sitting Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution section, of Online Dispute Resolution by Colm Brannigan and Marc Bhalla.

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Achieving Success in Mediating Catastrophic Injuries

Marshall Schnapp, BA, JD, LLM (ADR) | November 02, 2023

Personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries can be some of the most hotly-contested actions in this field of law. Significant amounts of money are often on the line. Since most civil cases settle before trial, a mediation session where the parties are brought together to negotiate with a neutral third party can be the pivotal moment in proceedings. In this article, I offer some thoughts on how to effectively mediate catastrophic injury cases.

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Finding Your Client's Reservation Point

Matthew Gordon | May 02, 2023

In many negotiations, a client's reservation point becomes critical to understanding settlement options. A reservation point is the worst settlement a client will accept in order to avoid the worst alternative to a negotiated agreement. This situation applies to litigation, non-litigious disputes, and business negotiations, with slightly different dynamics in each.

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Settlement Privilege: Exceptions and Considerations in Family Law

Crystal Heidari | March 10, 2023

The Supreme Court of Canada addresses the issue of settlement privilege in the family law context in Association de mediation familiale du Québec v. Bouvier, 2021 SCC 54, but what are the practical implications on the typical person going through the family law process?

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Employment Mediation in the Age of ZOOM

Barry Fisher | November 23, 2022

Employment mediations have gone virtual. What does that mean for the parties, for counsel, for the mediator, and for the future of the profession? Here are 20 key points about where Zoom is taking the practice of employment mediation.

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Welcome from the Chair and Vice-Chair

Afsana Gibson-Chowdhury and Matthew Gordon | November 16, 2022

The ADR Section Executive is back for another great year of CPD, networking events, mentorship events, and arguing for increased use of ADR processes in the legal field.

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Revised ICSID Regulations and Rules: Official recognition of third-party funding’s popularity

Athanasios Papadas | June 22, 2022

International treaties commonly contain investment dispute resolution procedures. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Rules are the most popular procedures chosen under these agreements. New amendments to these rules come into force on July 1, 2022, the first amendments since 2006. Key guidance regarding cost allocation, security for costs, and third-party funding are essential to arbitrators, counsel and parties embroiled in these critical disputes.

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Preparing a Kick-Ass Mediation Brief

Stuart Rudner | April 14, 2022

The digital age has changed the capabilities of how a mediation brief can read, look and feel. In this article, Stuart Rudner outlines some key strategies advocates can use when presenting their cases for mediation, which is one of the - if not the most - major steps in employment and civil disputes.

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The Standard of Review for Jurisdiction Decisions in International Commercial Arbitration – An Update on Recent Jurisdiction Decisions

Chloe Snider and Karin Kazakevich | April 08, 2022

Ontario and BC courts have recently taken conflicting approaches to the standard of review of jurisdictional decisions in international commercial arbitration under the UNCITRAL Model Law. In this article, Chloe Snider and Karin Kazakevich explore this case law in detail, including the theoretical differences between the correctness standard and a hearing de novo.

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Ratcheting in Representative Negotiation

Matthew Gordon | March 31, 2022

Pre-existing offers, contracts and settlements can increase parties' expectations, often to unreasonable or unrealistic levels, leading to a ratcheting effect that can reset a market or scupper a negotiation. In this article, Matthew Gordon looks at the ways a properly assessed market sample, in the context of parties' realities and emotions, can contribute to a productive resolution of a difficult dispute.

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Managing Different Insurers' Interests at Global Mediation

Joseph Sullivan | February 22, 2022

In a global mediation of an insurance claim, there are often three different insurers: tort, accident benefits, and long-term disability. Each may bring a different perspective to the table, as well as a different timeline and different underlying interests. In this article, experienced insurance mediator Joseph Sullivan explains some of the main issues that arise in these global settlement scenarios.

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Committing to Settlement Work: Dropping the "A" from ADR

Ryan Osbourne | January 13, 2022

Ryan Osbourne, a collaborative family lawyer and mediator, discusses how his approach to thinking of settlement first in family law cases is part of a growing trend away from the courts.

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The Year in ADR: Noteworthy 2021 Court Decisions About Not Going to Court

Mitchell Rose | December 18, 2021

In this article, mediator Mitch Rose discusses the courts' interpretations of mediation confidentiality, enforceability of arbitration agreements, settlement discussions and releases in 2021.

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The Honourable Mary Jo Nolan Receives the 2021 OBA Award of Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution

Mana Khami | December 10, 2021

On November 25, 2021, the Ontario Bar Association ("OBA") presented The Honourable Mary Jo Nolan with the Award of Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR"). The award ceremony was held by Zoom, and over 70 people attended the ceremony.

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Welcome from the Chair and Vice-Chair

Mana Khami and Chloe Snider | November 14, 2021

An introduction to the Ontario Bar Association's ADR programming for the 2021-2022 year.

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Online Mediation or In-Person: Determining the best Path for your Case

Marshall Schnapp | August 27, 2021

Now that virtual mediation is becoming a norm, will returning to in-person be right for your case? Marshall Schnapp addresses the key issues facing the decision to mediate in person versus online.

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The Case Has Settled: Who Should Draft the Minutes of Settlement?

Bernard Morrow | July 03, 2021

When the parties have settled, it appears as though the case is over and everyone can go home. However, the terms contained in the minutes of settlement are crucial to understanding the parties' agreement and any obligations going forward. The need for counsel to draft minutes of settlement reflecting the parties' agreement remains as important as ever in these challenging times.

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Views from the COVID Bomb Shelter – A Statistical Analysis

Vance Cooper, Jonathan T. Cooper, Logan Cooper | May 14, 2021

Vance Cooper, with contributions from Jonathan T. Cooper and Logan Cooper, explains the trajectory of a mediation boutique during these COVID-afflicted times. Using a quantitative survey, this article shows the change in settlement rates from March 2020 until the present time.

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Third-Party Funding and Ethical Considerations for ADR Providers

Athanasios Papadas | May 14, 2021

With the rise of third-party funding in Canada, ethical issues have arisen involving the disclosure of third-party funders in ADR processes. This article takes a global perspective, looking at how international and comparative statutes may influence Canadian law. Then the article argues for more wide-reaching disclosure so add transparency to ADR processes in Canada.

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Case Management Arbitration: An Efficient Solution to COVID-19 Backlogs

Megan Keenberg | May 14, 2021

COVID-19-related court backlogs and closures have caused commercial litigation to take longer. Case management arbitration allows parties to craft a process to resolving their disputes in a timely, expedient manner.

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Getting to an Agreement

Stuart Rudner | May 14, 2021

Video mediation has become bigger than ever since 2020, but there are still impasses between parties that can prevent a deal. In a two-part article, starting with the benefits of video mediation and continuing with ways to adapt traditional settlement strategies, Stuart Rudner provides a step-by-step guide for reaching a virtual settlement.

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Practice Makes Perfect: The Value of Participating in ADR Competitions During Law School

Sara Racicot | April 20, 2021

Sara Racicot, a law student at Queens University Belfast, explains her journey learning ADR through law school simulations in this diary entry.

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When Things Go South

Harold Arkin | April 20, 2021

In this article, Harold Arkin uses two case studies from his personal injury practice to illustrate how an impasse in motor vehicle mediation can be solved with the passage of time and the cooling of passions - but as with anything in dispute resolution, there are no guarantees.

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OBA Joins Global Efforts to Address Mediator and Arbitrator Diversity – Share Your Views Via Online Survey

April 15, 2021

The Ontario Bar Association’s Neutral Diversity Committee has crafted a survey to collect information about OBA member experiences and views in relation to mediator and arbitrator diversity. OBA members engaged in litigation, mediation and arbitration are invited to share their views.

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Saving Face: Ego Utility in ADR

Matthew Gordon | March 16, 2021

How do you deal with a party who's convinced of their own correctness. Using knowledge gained from Botond Koszegi's 2006 article on ego utility that remains just as relevant in 2021, this article discusses some common ways peoples' ongoing need to maintain a healthy ego can prolong or even cause disputes.

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Recent Trends in the Mediation of Employment Law Disputes

Barry Fisher | March 16, 2021

2020 was a remarkable year for employment law. In this article, ZOOM mediations, enforceability of termination clauses, valuation of shares in non-public companies, and the poverty defence come to the forefront as four of the biggest current trends in employment law in Ontario.

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Mediation-Arbitration: A Better Way to Resolve Disputes?

Mana Khami and David Canton | February 06, 2021

In the wake of the 2020 and 2021 Ontario provincial emergency orders, parties and their lawyers have had to be increasingly creative in resolving disputes that may be delayed in getting to court. Mediation-arbitration (med-arb) allows parties to craft their own solutions, with resort to a final, binding decision that will clarify the case and their relationship.

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Happy Hybrid Mediation New Year!

Mitchell Rose | January 13, 2021

It's a new year with a new amendment to Ontario's virtual mediation rules. Here's a primer on how this amendment, regarding election on mediation forum, impacts lawyers and mediators in Ontario.

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Michael Fortier

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Torys LLP

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OBA alternative dispute resolution articles are published by the Alternative Dispute Resolution section of the Ontario Bar Association. Members are encouraged to submit articles. The Articles are provided for educational or informational purposes only and are not intended to provide legal, accounting or tax advice and should not be relied upon in that respect. Any article or other information or content expressed or made available in this Section, is that of the respective author and not of the OBA. Precedents and other material contained herein are used at the user’s sole risk, and the OBA does not guarantee the legal efficacy of the use of any documentation. You should not act or rely on any information on this Web Site without seeking the advice of a professional.

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