A Cold Wind from the North

 

The Royal Opera House in London – 2 streams

(a) Mozart crowd

(b) Wagner crowd

 

ADR

(a)      Herbivores

(b)     Carnivores

 

(a)      Aesop’s fable about the sun and the wind

(b)     LBJ: Get them by the balls and their hearts and mind will follow

 

 

(a)      Facilitative mediation

·        A healing process

·        “Never mind the success rate – satisfied that they are better people”

·        Lawyers are discouraged

·        Get on same wavelength as the parties

·        Close down initial statements

·        Caucus sessions

 

(b)     Fast-track hard-nose dispute resolution

·        50% insurer funds go to costs

·        Busy

·        Decision makers delegate

·        Lawyer dominated

·        Well onto the point that aggression pays off in facilitative process

 

USA – 2 systems

 

DRB

·        3 independent people

·        Constant review – big project

·        Legal cases, heavily guillotined

·        99% acceptance

·        Almost always USA

 

Mini-trial

·        Often well into litigation

·        1 independent person on panel, 2 flankers not involved

·        Same case presentation

·        Panel works as a panel

·        Sometimes outside USA

 

A third system – skip the neutral; go to CEO – surprisingly effective

 

Hybrid is the most common in UK

·        Presentation – to panel or 1 neutral

·        Caucus – panel decides if it can, but sometimes break into caucus – flankers are floating

·        Written recommendation

 

Some features of hybrid:

·        Written submissions – 10 pages + 50

·        Decision makers not always there

·        Video/DVD

·        Lawyers there

·        Works best if neutral brighter than lawyers. Typically a lawyer. US$10k a day.

·        In and out of adjudication.  Agree subsystems.

·        Vetoes on recommendation.  Best not, leaks result anyway.

·        Often a delayed effect – a month

 

Politics, money and fear

·        Politics – personal antagonisms – public examples – back-stabbing

·        Money – cash and accounts

·        Fear – Sweep the mess under the carpet, is the nightmare getting worse or better

 

Track record

          Hybrid about 80% - which is better than about 50% for facilitative processes

 

Most successful creature on earth is mankind – clever and omnivore.  Eat your greens and a decent steak.