Summary of Meetings: Alternative Dispute Resolution - Nanaimo
Number of Meetings Held:5
September 10, 2020
Registration Count: 11
Guest Speaker: Ron Monk
Meeting Title/Topic: Our Mediation Stories
Synopsis:Our Mediation Stories You have lots of them – stories of mediations where you were pleased with how you created just the right atmosphere, did the most effective interventions, brought the parties to new levels of insight and understanding. And then there are the ones you ponder, when you were frustrated with the parties, or no matter what you did, things just weren’t working, or you didn’t feel on top of your game or worse still, you thought you did all right but one or more of the parties gave negative feedback you didn’t feel was justified being directed at you. On September 10 we had an opportunity to reflect not so much on what we learn from the stories we create about our own mediations, but how we process those mediations and why we recreate the narratives we do. I have a number of “war stories” that I related – complex multi-party processes, one-on-one workplace, family and child protection situations. They provided fodder for my own machinations and the degree to which my stories of those mediations served me.
December 03, 2020
Registration Count: 6
Guest Speaker: Derek Brindle, QC
Meeting Title/Topic: Mediating the Litigated Case - Facilitative vs. Evaluative
Synopsis:In many cases, commercial litigation parties will purposefully choose a mediator with subject matter expertise. The parties seek out and expect that the mediator will implement an evaluative approach in assisting the parties reach a settlement. This poses unique challenges for the mediator beyond those that typically associated with the "facilitative" model. "Evaluative", in the mediation context, is however a term with no fixed content. It lies somewhere in the continuum beyond traditional facilitation, short of adjudication. This presentation explored the role of the evaluative mediator and some "hybrid" techniques that may be used to compliment the facilitative approach.
January 21, 2021
Registration Count: 9
Guest Speaker: Lori Austein, Trainer, Way of Council
Meeting Title/Topic: Developing Your Listening Capacity
Synopsis:Successful mediation arises out of connection. We experienced the practice of council where we focussed on creating connections through listening without interruption for the purpose of being understood. We learned to listen without judgment and to understand the perspective of another. This was a listening practice that built trust between parties and within families. When we listened without interruption, our nervous systems calmed, and we were able to engage from the more developed part of the brain. In this way, we emerged from mediation more resilient.
March 25, 2021
Registration Count: 16
Guest Speaker: Donna and Marshall Soules, Soules Consulting Ltd.
Meeting Title/Topic: Neutrality: Challenges for Mediators
Synopsis:In this presentation by mediators Donna and Marshall Soules, they invited attendees to explore the challenges of neutrality.
June 10, 2021
Registration Count: 9
Guest Speaker: Stephen McPhee QC
Meeting Title/Topic: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: lessons in mediation from the Wedding Crashers
Synopsis:Stephen McPhee led a roundtable discussion about the real life lessons we can learn from the opening mediation scene in Wedding Crashers. Despite its comedic reputation the opening scene illustrates some effective techniques as well as some less so.
Comments and Observations of the Chair
...