International mediation: challenges for counsel

and mediators

September 2006

Eileen CarrollLawyerDeputy CEO, CEDR

Karl MackieLawyer & PsychologistCEO, CEDR

www.cedr.co.uk

          

15 September 2006An introduction to CEDR

• Staff – 40

• Consultants – 60

• Case referrals – over 11,000

• Neutrals – over 130

• Delivered ADR Workshops in over 25

different countries

• Consultancy work in Croatia,Pakistan,

Russia, Slovakia etc

• Projects with EU, World Bank, NATO,

UNCITRAL

Cultural impact – the big picture

• People and culture vs globalisation ('flat

earth')

• Legal, corporate & economic systems   

• Arbitration and litigation as alternatives

• Ethics and corporate governance   

• Styles of decision-making and negotiation

• Language, beliefs, needs, identity

International/cross border challenges

• Getting information

• Getting to decision makers

• Presenting to right people

• Ideological and cultural diversity

• Risk of corruption

• Forum and timing costs

Recent trends in entry into mediation

• Multi-track approach     

• Sophisticated lawyers    

• Sophisticated decision makers      

• Role of courts      

• Contract and corporate policies      

• OECD / World Bank / UNCITRAL   

Why it works in international arena

• Structured agenda      

• Commitment / engagement   

• Balance of information      

• Patience and skills of mediator

• Enlightened self interest

• Deadline injects reality

Case study: International infrastructure

• Finance agreement / New York   

• Plant / Guatemala      

• Warranties / Dutch suppliers    

• Insurance / Guatemala / London

• Personnel / 40

Logistics - case study: Japanese / European

• Arbitration context    

• Cultural mismatch     

• Language

• Documentation       

• Respect and honour vs commercial

drivers

The mediation - case study: Intellectual property: USA/European

• Identifying the issues  

• Pre-mediation

negotiations       

•  Managing expectations      

• Presentation impact       

• Using the mediator       

• Impasse        

• Drafting and

enforcement       

• Follow-up

Form & flexibility – the mediation framework

 

FORM 

 

MEDIATION

 

FLEXIBILITY

• Confidentiality• Independent• Mediation agreement• Law of the mediation• Legal presentation• Disciplined process structure• Discipline of deadline• Agreed binding outcome

• Dynamic balance• Managed by neutral

• Executive participation• Commercial dialogue of common sense• Imaginative solutions• Financial analysis• Balance of risk and reward• Principal to principal contact• Case and business overview combined• Agreed workable outcome

The mediation framework

“There is in our work as mediators, when it is going well, a peculiarly American blend of learned structure and conventions, and improvisation strongly supported by talent and intuition. It is jazz: There are a few orthodoxies and a lot of ad hoc ensemble invention.”

(Howard Bellman,US Environmental/Labour Mediator)

Mediation as a ‘cultural’ bridge

NEGOTIATION DISPUTE MEDIATION BRIDGE

Mismatch – expectations, cultural, personality, needs

Clash and/or non-communication

Step back to appraise, clarify, re-assess

Organisation or lawyer aspiration gap

Adversarial positions

Reality-test, reassess options and commercial interests

Difficult conversations

Proactive conversations

Oil the wheels and re-engage gears/leveraged momentum

Mediation as a ‘cultural’ bridge – cont.

NEGOTIATION DISPUTE MEDIATION BRIDGE

Impasse Legal Action / Other Damage

Form & Flexibility – binding legal result or true insight

Immediate face-off, or distance

Hostile distance and agency

Given time, space & common platform to bridge gap

International Mediation – The Art of Diplomacy2nd Edition

“…first rate… the kind of groundwork publication that is necessary to the institutionalisation of mediation and other interest-based dispute resolution into professional and business cultures.”

Hans U. Stucki, Lawyer Chicago, USA

Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution

CEDRInternational Dispute Resolution Centre70 Fleet StreetLondonEC4Y 1EU

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7536 6000Fax: +44 (0) 20 7536 6001

www.cedr.co.uk

CEDR gratefully acknowledges the support of its members