November 10 and 11 will be the best one-two punch ever for marketing the professional mediator. Period.

On November 10, our executive director, Kym Adams, will be presenting an interactive workshop "Using 21st Century Media to market your Mediation Practice." It's at the Beverly Hills Bar Ass'n, 300 South Beverly Drive, Second Floor, Beverly Hills CA 90212. Show up at 5:00 p.m. with a laptop and Kym will hook you up with Linkedin, Twitter and/or Facebook. Yes, Facebook. Annoy your children by g… Continue

In California a substantial and growing set of rules govern the conduct of a mediator but only in ‘court-connected’ mediations; this phrase is intended to distinguish the well-paid private mediation market from the mostly unpaid ‘court-connected’ mediation market.

This is misleading since all mediations are court-connected because they are all about settling cases filed in the court. Good luck getting paid to resolve a dispute that is not 'court-connected.'

The private mediation market is comp… Continue

So it's been a rough week or two, and I've been pondering what makes your customers keep wanting to come back. Of course, results are a big plus. When I had a recent streak of 19 in a row with settlements, I would have thought that results were all you needed...

But now, this week I have had four in a row not settle. I'm batting 1 for 5, and it's only Wednesday. Last week I was 3 for 7. I'm seriously thinking I have misplaced my mojo. I suppose the French Canadian side of me is superstitious an… Continue

As a professional mediator, some of my most challenging and, yes, enjoyable moments have come when I've been able to go "under the line." That is to say, I've been able to do things to increase the size of the pie that was presented to me when I first entered the room. Perhaps I was able to assist the parties in re-establishing a business relationship that had gone south and ended in litigation. Or maybe I was able to provide a safe haven within which somebody was able to commence the process of… Continue

As each of you know, in mediation, when we listen, people talk. Talking about what really matters to them so they can reach their own solutions. During this process, while being authentic, I have caught myself slightly full of emotions for the parties and often wondered if this was defying the neutral classification that we as mediators must carry out?

Just recently, while I was mediating a couple who had been involved in a domestic dispute that had been festering for over two years. I had wond… Continue