Offering interdisciplinary insights from sociological, psychological and gender studies, this book addresses this question: how do professional, lay and gendered actors understand and experience case processing in litigation and mediation? Drawing on data from 131 interviews, questionnaires and observations of plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers and mediators involved in 64 fatality and medical injury cases, the book challenges dominant understandings of how formal legal processes and dispute resolution work in practice as well as the notion that disputants and their representatives broadly understand and want the same things during case processing. In juxtaposing actors' discourse on all sides of ongoing cases on issues such as expectations, needs, comprehensions of what plaintiffs seek from the legal system, objectives for resolving conflict at mediation, and perceptions of what occurs during attempts at case resolution, the findings reveal inherent problems with the core workings of the legal system.

As judiciaries advance, exploring how court mediation programs can provide opportunities for party-directed reconciliation whilst ensuring access to formal legal channels requires careful investigation. Court Mediation Reform explores comparative empirical findings in order to examine the association between court mediation structure and perceptions of justice, efficiency and confidence in courts.

This practical guide, with a foreword by Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, will assist those interested in conflict resolution to better understand the psychological processes of parties in conflict and mediation. As Randolph argues, psychology is increasingly perceived by lawyers as a vital tool for resolving conflicts in the litigation environment, whether in commercial, family, community or employment disputes. With an ever-growing demand for mediators across international borders, the psychologically-informed mediator can also provide much needed facilitation in global trade and peace negotiations, as well as being invaluable in helping to resolve a variety of political and international conflicts.

Mediation Law and Practice gives a thorough account of the practice of mediation from the perspective of the student and practitioner. Divided into two parts, it deals with both the practice of mediation and the law surrounding mediation. Touching on the theory and philosophy behind the practice, it further describes in a theoretical and practical sense the difference between the emerging models of mediation. Mediator qualities are discussed in terms of issues of gender, culture and power. This book examines the important issue of mediation ethics and, taking into account the developing law surrounding the practice, proposes a code of ethics. It looks at the future of mediation in light of the decline in litigation, the rise in regulatory constraints on mediation and the popularity of online mediation. Mediation Law and Practice provides students and practitioners with the complete text on the practice and law surrounding mediation.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

This volume is an essential, cutting-edge reference for all practitioners, students, and teachers in the field of dispute resolution. Each chapter was written specifically for this collection and has never before been published. The contributors--drawn from a wide range of academic disciplines--contains many of the most prominent names in dispute resolution today, including Frank E. A. Sander, Carrie Menkel-Meadow, Bruce Patton, Lawrence Susskind, Ethan Katsh, Deborah Kolb, and Max Bazerman. The Handbook of Dispute Resolution contains the most current thinking about dispute resolution. It synthesizes more than thirty years of research into cogent, practitioner-focused chapters that assume no previous background in the field. At the same time, the book offers path-breaking research and theory that will interest those who have been immersed in the study or practice of dispute resolution for years. The Handbook also offers insights on how to understand disputants. It explores how personality factors, emotions, concerns about identity, relationship dynamics, and perceptions contribute to the escalation of disputes. The volume also explains some of the lessons available from viewing disputes through the lens of gender and cultural differences.

The system of international arbitration is built on private contractual relations, yet has been endorsed by governments around the world as a fair and reliable alternative to litigation in State courts. As a private process, however, its authority and legitimacy derive entirely from the views and actions of those involved in the arbitral process, whether arbitrators, counsel, or parties. It is, though increasingly clear that psychological factors complicate, and in some cases radically change, every arbitral proceeding. In this context, psychological insights are crucial for understanding how international arbitration genuinely operates, and whether the legal framework currently applied to it is well-suited to achieving the aims of ensuring a fair and reliable dispute resolution procedure. This is the first book to focus on this important issue: the insights into international arbitration that can be gained from contemporary psychology. With contributions from nineteen internationally known figures in their fields – arbitrators, mediators, lawyers, law professors, psychology professors, psychologists – and drawing from a longer term project on the role of psychology in arbitration, this ground-breaking volume addresses a range of topics, including the following: - the decision-making processes of arbitrators; - the ability of arbitration to serve as a genuine dispute resolution mechanism; - the impact of particular procedures on the arbitral process; - bias, self-deception and vested interests in judgment and decision-making; - the role of arbitrators in managing the arbitral process; - cultural differences in the evaluation of arguments; - psychological influences on witness testimony; - the impact of tribunal composition on arbitral decision-making; - the influence of arbitration’s professional context on arbitrators and legal counsel; and - methods for arbitrators and legal counsel to more effectively manage the arbitral process. Informed by the behavioural insights in these essays, counsel and arbitrators will be enabled to think critically about the underlying assumptions and the potential behavioural effects of a prospective arbitration, while individuals researching arbitration will gain a greater understanding of the psychological context in which every arbitration occurs. This book meets the increasingly recognized need for understanding the role of psychology in arbitral proceedings, and forms an indispensable foundation for subsequent work in this area. Its innovative and forward-thinking analysis will be of immeasurable value to the international arbitration community, as well as to institutions supporting arbitration and to academics in the field.