Mediation On-Line

A Newsletter from ADR Resources
http://adrr.com/adr9/009.htm // June 1998
From: Ethesis@AOL.Com (Ethesis)
To: SMarsh@adrr.com

Greetings:

I've taken some vacation time for June, so the next newsletter (July) will be sparse.  With this newsletter I am very pleased to announce a new essay at http://adrr.com/adr2/Mmsart2.htm by Frank Muller P,E., Esq. and Richard A. Coughlin P.E., MBA on Partnering -- a form of mediation/faciliation (group teams) in the Construction Industry.  I have also put on-line my Mediator's Checklist for Personality Factored Conflicts at http://adrr.com/adr2/checklist1.htm.

Conferences

NIDR's yearly conference will be in Columbus, Ohio July 19-22 and details are available by calling 1-202-466-4764. While I will not be able to attend, I have sent them my conference presentation to print and distribute.  I've authorized them to charge for the copies (without any payment to me) to help them cover their costs.

The Federal Labor & Mediation Conference is in San Antonio will be July 9 and 10th. Write Commr. Michael J. Wolf, Federal Mediation Service, 10127 Morocco, STE 108, San Antonio, Texas 78216-3938 to be put on the mailing list. It is an important conference for anyone interested in Federal practice.

IPRA Conference is to be held at the University of Durban-Westville, Durban, South Africa. For more information, please contact Hallen@accord.org.za or visit the ACCORD web site at http://www.accord.org.za or the IPRA home page at http://www.copri.dk/ipra/ipra.html.

Interesting new Mediation & ADR web sites

A reminder.  If you receive this newsletter, and if you have a web site, please send me the url to look at. I'm actively adding personal and small group practice mediation sites at http://adrr.com/adr0/links1.htm#SMALL and value referrals and suggestions about good sites.

• The authors of the article on partnering have a web site at http://www.uswebx.com/metrogroup.  Worth a visit to see how mediation and dispute resolution continues to expand past "court annexed" mediation and how it improves business relationships.
• Vist http://www.adrr.com/apriori/ -- professional mediation and arbitration services, specializing in employment and labor disputes.  An excellent example of a focused provider of mediation services.  A simple, elegant site.
• Visit http://adrr.com/search/searchnow.htm to try out the new search engine for my site. I remain very pleased with it.  Fast, complete and with good options and a good algorithm. It is part of my reworking of the site.  Much of the change is subtle.  The footers are a little different -- and the same on every mediation related page.  I should also note that my home page at http://adrr.com/index.htm is cleaner, with a modestly revised graphic, improved margins, layout and approach.  Feedback options are now clearer and the bulletin board is much easier to recognize as is the e-mail link. I have had some excellent criticism and the site is much better for it. (And yes, if you have further suggestions, by all means send them to me.  I am always interested in improving the site).
• Argus Clearinghouse on dispute resolution lists several sites (not just mine) at http://www.clearinghouse.net/ cgi-bin/chadmin/viewcat/Social_Sciences___Social_Issues/political_science/conflict_studies?kywd. An excellent place to visit in order to find things I've missed. 
• Divorce Coach/Mediator at http://www.divorcehelp.com/DHC/Susan.html -- is an interesting site.  A while back I did a survey of over fifty ADR professionals on the web.  Only two reported any ADR employment as the result of their site -- the most successful (by a substantial margin) being a site just like this one -- only less sophisticated.  I believe this site to be a template for what would make a successful "mediated divorce" practice in any population center of 300,000 people or more that also has a University in it (such as Austin, Texas).
• For more on the subject of mediated divorces, see Texas Lawyer's Marketing & Maintaining a Family Law Mediation Practice at the site http://www.texlaw.com/. The book sets out how to set up, advertise, and prosper with a "mediated divorce" or "coached divorce" practice and includes substantial client commentary -- including comments by people who were very displeased with the process.  Frank, honest and interesting.
• The Culver Mediation Center at http://members.aol.com/tpkeelan is very well executed.  Well worth a visit if you are considering a page of your own.  It is always a good thing to look at what other people are doing in order to decide what you like, what you don't like and what you think might inspire or guide you.
• Anita Shapiro's web site at http://members.home.net/adr-shapiro is worth a visit if you have considered home.com for hosting. The site is on my recommended list as a nicely executed small site.  Visit it if you are thinking of doing a site of your own.
• My links collection at http://adrr.com/adr0/links.htm has a greatly expanded section for governmental entity links -- I've added a number of State Commissions and State Bar Association web pages (though not all of them).  The on-line version of this newsletter has those links at the bottom of the page at http://adrr.com/adr9/009.htm#6.  The various State Bar Associations have finally started to put mediation materials on-line.  If your State has a content providing site, it can be a great place to visit to get an idea of where court annexed mediation is heading in your State and whether or not the State embraces the entire mediation community.
• If you are interested in marketing your on-line presence, the Deadlock Despatch at Jims-List@deadlock.com is an excellent free resource.  The back issues are at http://deadlock.com/despatch/archives/ -- it is always a good thing to read back issues of an e-mail journal to decide if you want to see it in your e-mail.
• For free web space, you may want to visit http://hypermart.net. It includes free secure server service (in case you are interested in selling books or other services from your web pages), CGI bin and scripts, you can have your own domain name (though you still have to pay Internic for the registration fees, there are no set-up or other charges by hypermart).  You can visit and decide if it is for you or not.
• For a free template, complete with graphics (but you need to fill in your own words) visit http://adrr.com/adr8/elfbox.  A close look will reveal that the graphic elements can be easily switched out for the replacement of your choice.  A visit to the Xoom.com site can give you an idea of just what is available in the way of free graphics.
• PROMOTION OF WORLD COMMUNITY GLOBAL VALUES at http://www.cosmosofy.org/ is a little off topic, but close.  Interesting site.  Their description gives the flavor:  "You may want to include mention of our URL website's extensive study resolving most of mankind's hottest topical conflictive issues."  Best thought of as a para-religion, they are heavily promoting themselves to every dispute resolution group and site. A visit to the site will let you know what people are talking about when the topic comes up in conversation.
  

News

There is a mediation center that has been opened in Jerusalem.  The e-mail connection for it is zami@md2.huji.ac.il. Ophir Yahalom, Adv., is the manager of that mediation center in jerusaslem, Israel, which I am told is first and only one in Israel. He is looking for a software program to manage a mediation center.  If anyone knows of such software, please drop him a line at his e-mail connection tsylmlaw@actcom.co.il or contact him at Tel. 972-2-6222627; Fax. 972-2-6236104; 10 Rabbi Akiva St. Jerusalem 94582, Israel.  I would also encourage anyone supportive of peace to consider supporting him.

I'm not sure where else to put this.  I do not charge for inclusion in the links I provide in the newsletters or at http://adrr.com/adr0/links.htm, etc. If I like your page and think it worthy, I'll list it without you having to pay anything.  If you can't pay me to list a site don't worry about recommending it since I've yet to charge anyone for a listing, payment does not matter.

While I am at it, let me recommend another free site:

"Brief Reporter (http://www.briefreporter.com) is an Internet-based repository of legal briefs each of which have been abstracted and indexed by our staff attorneys. We have a large number of briefs on a diverse range of legal practice areas. Searching of our service is free as is our Personal Notification Service."

No one was charged for my copying their press release here (in fact, they don't even know I'm mentioning it in my newsletter).

Essay/Comment/Books/Periodicals

The Negotiation Journal (Plenum Press/Harvard Program on Negotiation) and Harvard Negotiation Law Review (Harvard Program on Negotiation/Harvard Law School) are both coming out regularly.  The first is a quarterly, completely reorganized, the second is listed in some sources as a quarterly but comes out once a year (which causes some confusion if you've read the wrong source and are expecting the "Spring" issue to be followed by Summer, Fall and Winter).  Interesting.

I've been asked to recommend books on mediation for people.  I have three that I think are extremely useful -- though I have specific places were I disagree with each.

The first is NITA's The Art of Mediation, available directly from Notre Dame's Law school at 1-800-225-6482 (ISBN 155681-483-6).  It is basically the text and charts for teaching a forty hour "court annexed" type mediation course.  It provides the basics about mediation as it is practiced by attorneys and mediators in civil law suits.

The second is Mennonite Conciliation Service's Mediation and Facilitation Training Manual (Third Edition) which can be ordered by telephone at 1-717-859-3889. This gives you an insight into traditional (non "court annexed") mediation as it was practiced in a historical context.  I should note that the methods and techniques presented in the Manual are far more successful and effective than some of the "traditional" approaches (for more on those, you can always read the Icelandic Saga of Burn Njal).

The third is Dr. Suzette Haden Elgin's How to Turn the Other Cheek and Still Survive in Today's World, Thomas Nelson Publishers ISBN 0-7852-7249-6.  I really see Dr. Elgin's discussion as covering the topics and material that will be the next wave of training and focus in mediation skills training.  By reading her you will be five to ten years ahead of the field.  Many of the points she makes are ones I very much agree with. Dr. Elgin also has an unofficial (but "with permission") index of her on-line newsletters at Lingua (http://adrr.com/lingua/).

For those newly interested in Arbitration, Solomon Publications at http://www.erols.com/arbmed/ has an interesting book. Read a little bit of the on-line material to see if it meets your tastes or not. I bought a copy and our local dispute resolution council is using it (I'm still hoping to get it back ...).

And, if you are in a Spanish speaking community or country: APENAC has recently published a book in Spanish
entitled "Negotiation, Conciliation and Arbitration", written by Roque Caivano from Argentina, it covers extensively the
theory and practice of the three ADR mechanisms. Cost is 50.00 Soles (US 18.00) plus shipping. Orders may be made to postmaster@apenac.org.pe. I am proud to recommend it.

More Notes.

I try to keep the e-mail version of this newsletter reasonably short.  I put material I would have put in the e-mail version, but consider it too long, or derivative, etc. at the bottom of the on-line version.  This month's on-line version also has the following:

• Excerpts from a past newsletter produced by rrunkel@willamette.edu (Ross Runkel).  If you like them, send him an e-mail to subscribe to his free e-mail newsletter on the law of mediation.
• A repeat endorsement of Dr. Suzette Haden Elgin's How to Turn the Other Cheek and Still Survive in Today's World, Thomas Nelson Publishers ISBN 0-7852-7249-6.  I really think it is an important book.
• A summary of Bounced E-Mail addresses.
• A list of web-site links to governmental entities -- includes only links that have some merit (if only artistic).  Of course I'm always interested in suggestions and more information on web sites -- especially those of individual mediators.
• A new cgi script (one you are welcome to copy and use on your web page).

Publications // Mediation Monthly // Camara (Peru) // Web Notes

Troy Smith and Mediation Monthly can be reached at ADRINFO@aol.com or 1-800-ADR-FIRM.  BTW, I'm interested in recommendations for other publications -- if you are involved with one, let me know about it and I'd love to share information about it.

Camera is also looking forward to its next issue.  That one will probably be free as well. If anyone wants to be an academic or financial sponser for this excellent South American/Peruvian initiative, you can contact them at CAMARA-Boletín de Derecho, Miguel Iglesias No. 109. Lima 34, LIMA-PERU, Phone : 00 51 14 762871, Fax: 00 51 14 636952.  Peru has a comprehensive ADR statute, and the people behind Camara were involved in that.

Ayacucho now has its own ADR project, financed by USAID.  This is a wonderful step forward.

http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_1933.html is an interesting story if you use a computer word processor.  If you deal with managers, http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/lewis/lewis.htm is a great read once a week. Lewis is wonderful for dispute resolution and problem solving ideas when you are dealing with managers in any endeavor, even your own.

Finally:

News: APENAC has recently published a book in Spanish
entitled "Negotiation, Conciliation and Arbitration", written
by Roque Caivano from Argentina, it covers extensively the
theory and practice of the three ADR mechanisms. Cost is 50.00 Soles
(US 18.00) plus shipping. Orders could be taken in
postmaster@apenac.org.pe

Submissions to adrr.com

As always, I am interested in any submissions or articles anyone would like to have posted on the web.  While I can't pay for them, I don't charge to post your material, under your name and with your links, on my space. I prefer to post material as you have written it, with no editorial changes by myself.

With my best regards, I remain,

Sincerely yours,

Stephen Marsh
http://adrr.com/adr9/009.htm
Additional material is included in the on-line version.

Back issues at http://adrr.com/adr9/mediation.htm
If anyone wants to do me a favor, visit http://add.yahoo.com/fast/add?44761 and recommend this site to Yahoo.  If you've submitted your site to Yahoo and have not heard back, the stack purged your submission without the staff ever reading it.  It can take months before you make it to a review sometimes and it never hurts to have some friends submit your site.
*************************************

If for some reason you wish to be removed from my periodical mailings please let me know.  I just updated my mailing list and if I'm sending anyone extra copies or sending it to anyone who shouldn't be getting it, please let me know.  This is my first time with a mailing list and I'm trying to limit it to only people who would be interested.  Thanks for your patience and help.

Post Script (the "extra" material for the on-line version).

From: rrunkel@willamette.edu (Ross Runkel)

Mediation: Attorney Has Inherent Power To Bind Client In ADR Proceeding
Koval v Simon Telelect, Inc. (Ind. 03/31/98)

Under the Indiana ADR rules, an attorney for a party can bind his or her client in an ADR proceeding using an analogous rule for "in court" proceedings. "[I]n the absence of a communication of lack of authority by the attorney, as a matter of law, an attorney has the inherent power to settle a claim when the attorney attends a settlement procedure governed by the ADR rules." [Full Decision On Westlaw: 1998 WL 146193]

Article: Critical Path to Mediating High-Tech Disputes
Practicing Law Institute - Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, and
Literary Property Course Handbook Series PLI Order No. G4-4042 -February 1998

Mediation's efficiency and flexibility makes it the ideal choice for resolving disputes in an industry noted for rapid change. Unfortunately mediators knowledgeable in high-tech issues are in short supply. Attorneys and clients view the lack of in-depth industry related knowledge as the greatest bar to entering into mediation  [Full Article On Westlaw: 507 PLI/Pat 1081]

Hmm.  I have some substantial technical background, subscribe to Infoworld, etc.  Wonder how it would be possible to market myself as a mediator in this area?

ADR Online: Should A Mediator Also Be An Attorney?
Article by Cris M. Currie

"Among the more hotly debated issues concerning appropriate qualifications for mediators is the question as to whether it is preferable for mediators to also be lawyers. In many states, a law degree is a prerequisite for being listed as a court approved mediator. While most jurisdictions permit disputants to choose any mediator, non-attorney mediators are not always considered by court referred disputants. This is because, for most people, it is just easier to pick a name from the court approved list than to do their own research." [Details: http://www.mediate.com/articles/currie.cfm]

The author is a "non-lawyer."

I have to repeat my recommendation of Dr. Suzette Haden Elgin's book on peaceful language and resolving verbal conflict. The book is How to Turn the Other Cheek and Still Survive in Today's World, and is published by Thomas Nelson Publishers ISBN 0-7852-7249-6 ($12.99 223 pages). If you represent a group or institution, you can order a copy directly from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, at 1-800-251-4000 or 1-615-889-9000 for $8.99 (the institutional, single copy discount).  For lots of twenty, including shipping, the price is $197.98 (Nelson Word Direct, POB 140300, Nashville, TN  37214-0300, Attn Pam Owens).

Bounced E-Mail

The e-mail of last month's newsletter to the following e-mail addresses failed.  If you have one of these addresses, my apologies for the vagaries of the net.  I know that many of you are out there as we correspond. The error messages were included for your use in discussing the issues with your service provider.

----@pronet.com.au
----@telia.se
Connection refused by acuitysw.com
----@student.umass.edu... Deferred: No route to host
Name server: jur.uva.n: host not found
Name server: andinet.lat.net: host not found
----@odu.edu User not listed in public Name & Address Book
----@web.net> ... unknown user

More Governmental Links

• Texas State Bar ADR Section
• U.S. Department of Labor
• Hawaii State Bar Association
• http://www.michbar.org/sbm/sections/alterntv.htm
• North Carolina ADR Section
• Gwinnett Judicial Circuit
• Maine Lawyers' Network
• Utah State Bar ADR Committee
• Morris K. Udall Foundation
• Florida Mandatory Mediation Program
• b c Texas SOAH ADR Section
• Commonwealth Online ADR Page
• The North Carolina Court 
• Indiana
• Minnesota State Bar
• Ohio ADR Section
• Oregon Dispute Resolution Commission
• Pennsylvania Bar Association ADR Committee
• United States Labor Court
• http://justice.courts.state.fl.us/courts/adr/
• Washington State Bar Association ADR Section
• New York OHMS
• Dallas, Texas, ADR Co-ordinator

Another Free Service's latest announcement:

Subj: XOOMletter Vol. 1, # 1
Date: 98-05-06 12:23:15 EDT
From: custmrs@xoom.com (XOOM)
Reply-to: custmrs@xoom.com
To: members@xoom.com

Dear XOOM Member:

(note, I am no longer a XOOM member, but I find their e-mail useful so I have not unsubscribed)

Welcome to the XOOMletter! XOOM is such a beehive of activity that even us worker bees at our downtown San Francisco office can barely keep up with it. So we know how hard it has to be for you, no matter how often you visit our site.

Twice a month, starting in May, we hope to keep you (and our staff) up-to-date on all the exciting new things going on here. We'll also provide a tip or two about using the new features at XOOM, introduce you to some of the nifty people working here, and let you know about special member offers you might have missed.

Here's the lineup for this issue:

1. NOW, 11MB of free Web space, Easy Page Builder, free chatrooms, and more
2. Our Build a Better Page Contest*First Prize*all expense paid trip to London
3. Welcome to our official credit card, First USA
4. Meet our Website Manager Jeff
5. Tip of the week: Getting photos on your Easy Page Builder site
6. Special Offer on XOOM's 3-D Web Animation Pack

http://xoom.com/

-- the button that went with the "top 100" site review.  I'm looking forward to the book review (which will have additional material and is expected to have comments by each of the reviewed sites' authors).

-- the button that went with the Argus Clearinghouse adding of this site to their master index.  < Clearinghouse  >will take you to where this site is listed.

The following is a script I implemented on my site on May 7, 1998.  Wish me luck

Just finished getting the cgi script to work correctly.  For copies of everything, look at http://adrr.com/adr7/ -- you can get copies of the script, etc. there without having to make a referral.

Final notes on traffic to this site:

I use wusage for my statistics.  Like almost all useage measurement software it does not count pages served from cache memory.  With the recent upgrades to my service providers machines, the cache rate has improved.  Luckily, the cache does not seem to cache cgi hits and mid file calls -- both of which I have on the site.

By using cgi counters, etc. I can track the approximate cache hit rate (some of the scripts are not run if graphics are disabled, some if the wrong version of IE or NN is being run).  Before the upgrade, about one third of my page impressions came from cache hits.  Currently, approximately half of my page impressions come from cache hits.

Currently that means that there are approximately ten thousand relevant page impressions a week on the site.  (There are about another six thousand or so page impressions on areas not relevant to dispute resolution).  With graphics, etc., the number of "hits" (a measurement that doesn't provide much feedback) is around thirty thousand or so a week.

Just an update for those who are interested in such issues.

[return to mediation newsletter index]

This Website is by Stephen R. Marsh
Contact Information at:
http://adrr.com/smarsh/