This text provides an overview of the field of mediation by recognizing that it is both an “art” (the practice) and a “science” (the theory). Beginning with an overview of the nature of conflict, the text progresses through the theoretical elements of mediation as a dispute resolution technique, including a discussion of its relationship with negotiation and justice, and ends with a discussion of the practical skills required to conduct a successful mediation. The text integrates theory and practical information, using examples taken from real-life cases, activities, and discussion questions.

This text provides an overview of the field of mediation by recognizing that it is both an ôartö (the practice) and a ôscienceö (the theory). Beginning with an overview of the nature of conflict, the text progresses through the theoretical elements of mediation as a dispute resolution technique, including a discussion of its relationship with negotiation and justice, and ends with a discussion of the practical skills required to conduct a successful mediation. The text integrates theory and practical information, using examples taken from real-life cases, activities, and discussion questions.

Mediators are often pulled in many directions—they want to help their clients reach a speedy agreement, ensure the agreement is fair, and avoid coercion so they can honor mediation’s primary value of party self-determination. Can we have it all? In this groundbreaking resource, Dan Simon and Tara West illustrate how self-determination can mean much more than the absence of coercion—it can mean the opportunity for participants to increase their sense of agency as they gain clarity and confidence to make their own decisions, including those that express their highest values. Offering psychological research, philosophical principles, and real-life mediation stories, the authors examine where self-determination belongs in relation to other values, such as fairness, protection, and efficiency, as they wrestle with how to apply their principles in particularly challenging divorces, workplace conflicts, and more. Readers will be challenged to think deeply about how their values and assumptions guide their practice, and they will be inspired to more fully embrace their commitment to self-determination.

This workbook is designed for basic mediation training. Authors Scott Hughes, Mark Bennett, and Michele Hermann take NITA's performance-based training for trial lawyers and adapt it to training for mediators. The authors have used these materials extensively in their mediation training classes at law schools and in programs open to the public. The Art of Mediation, Second Edition, sets the mediation process in context, provides basic definitions, contrasts mediation with other forms of dispute resolution, describes varieties of mediation, and lays out roles and functions of the mediators. The book contains forms that illustrate sample agreements to mediate and final mediation agreements, plus a section containing hypothetical situations for performance training. Reviews "I have used the first edition of The Art of Mediation in my classes for almost a decade and I definitely intend to use the Second Edition in the future. Students like the book because it is so practical and easy to read. I like it because it presents a variety of perspectives so that students learn that there is no one right or easy way to mediate." — John Lande, Associate Professor and Director, LL.M. Program in Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law Columbia

"How to resolve conflicts and get the best out of bargaining." -- T.p. cover.