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The Task Force on Improving Mediation Quality has
Issued a Final Report
For the full report click the below icon
In congratulating the Task Force on the culmination of its
two-year project, Section Chair Larry Mills observed: "The
Report collects interesting empirical information from users
of mediation services, presents a nuanced discussion of
mediation practices, and identifies the most important
elements of high quality, successful mediations. I want to
commend particularly the Task Force Co-Chairs, Wayne Thorpe
and Rachel Wohl, for their effective leadership and
extraordinary commitment to making the Task Force Report
comprehensive and useful. The Task Force can be proud of its
accomplishments and for pointing the way to further
improvements in mediation through the recommendation of
follow-up projects, including user guides, training, further
study and shared experiences."
Task Force Co-chair Wayne Thorpe, a mediator with JAMS in
Atlanta, described the Task Force work this way: "Many
mediators and users are fully familiar with the basic concepts
that form the main focus of our Report: Mediation preparation,
case-by-case customization, analytical techniques, and
mediator persistence?but the Task Force's focus group
discussions revealed that many users are dissatisfied with
existing mediation practice as it relates to those topics.
Recognizing that these topics cannot be covered by bright
line, right/wrong descriptions, the Report recommends multiple
considerations for mediators, parties and lawyers to
incorporate into their mediation practice."
The Task Force determined to focus its work principally on
mediation conducted in the context of civil cases in which
parties were represented by counsel based upon the belief that
this focus would inform it about quality issues in a narrow,
reasonably well developed mediation practice area. The Task
Force organized a series of ten focus group discussions in
nine cities across the United States and Canada. In addition,
the Task Force collected more than a 100 responses to
questionnaires from mediation users and mediators, and
conducted telephone interviews with thirteen individuals who
have been parties in mediation.
Co-chair Rachel Wohl, Executive Director of Maryland's
Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office, said, "It was
interesting to note that many of the commercial lawyers we
spoke with, who frequently use mediation, have developed such
sophisticated levels of understanding, that they give advice
to their mediators about how to structure the mediation
process to suit the needs of particular cases. Most of these
same lawyers voiced very high expectations of mediators,
seeking not only those who are highly skilled and
knowledgeable, but also those who are intuitive and able to
help meet their clients' emotional needs. Although the Task
Force faced logistical and substantive challenges, working
collaboratively with Task Force members to meet them has been
a very rewarding experience."
The Task Force is hopeful that this Report as well as the
identified follow-up projects can show the way to great
improvement in mediation quality, especially in the four focus
areas of preparation, customization, analytical techniques,
and persistence.
Members of the Task Force are as follows:
Wayne Thorpe, Co-Chair
Rachel Wohl, Co-Chair
Phillip
Armstrong
John Bickerman (ex-officio)
Lisa Blomgren
Bingham
Kathy Bryan
John Buchanan
James
Coben
Everette Doffermyre
Amy J. Glass
Howard
Herman
David Hoffman (ex-officio)
Homer LaRue
John
Lande
Deborah Masucci
Linda Toyo Obayashi
Charles
Pou
Charna Sherman
Charles Stauber
Susan
Yates
Leila Taaffe
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