I had the pleasure of attending the ADR Group’s annual conference in Oxford on 9th December. As well as the opportunity to catch up with fellow mediators from across the country we were treated to the usual high standard of speaker during the course of the afternoon.
Duncan Jarrett OBE former senior Hostage Negotiator with the Met Police delved into what commercial mediators can learn from front line hostage negotiators. He referred us to the excellent work of Dr Robert Cialdini, Influence : The Psychology of Persuasion. I read this book last year, it’s a fascinating read and helped me avoid buying a bottle of champagne at Tesco last week, but that’s another story.
Henry Brown, a founder of the Family Mediators Association, looked at a hybrid model of mediation reflecting a mix of family and commercial mediation practices. He referred us to the innovative work of Neil Robinson of the Mediation Centre. He discussed preliminary meetings with solicitors ahead of the mediation day, something I intend to come back to in a future post.
Bill Wood QC, a leading commercial mediator and engaging speaker reviewed the Farm Assist case from earlier this year. He also briefly discussed trends in mediation practice such as leaving the decision makers alone to discuss settlement towards the end of a mediation which is another issue I will revisit in a future post.
Colin Stutt of the Legal Services Commission gave an update on the Jackson Costs Review and I have discussed this in more detail on the Personal Injury Mediation Service.
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