The Red Velvet Lawyer

1/16 An Analysis of Qatar’s Mediation Law No. 20 of 2021, Introduction On October 18, 2021, The Emir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, issued a mediation law ushering in the era of modern mediation in Qatar.    This law provides an important part of the “infrastructure” needed to expand the use of high-quality mediation services in the region.      Law No. 20 of 2021 has two parts: “On issuing the Mediation Law in Settlement of Civil and Commercial Disputes” (Article Nos. 1 to 4) and, “Mediation Law in Settlement of Civil and Commercial Disputes” (Article Nos. 1 to 33).  A copy of an unofficial English-language version of the law is available here .  An Arabic version of the law is available at www.almeezan.qa the legal portal for Qatari laws.   Over the next several weeks, I will analyze the law and assess its strengths and weaknesses.   I will focus first on: my expertise in analyzing mediation laws here , and providing a cul...

This week, I held my last Board meeting as President of the Virginia Mediation Network (VMN).  It was a bittersweet moment giving me a chance to reflect back on all we had accomplished and the chance to say: "What's next!" I remember the first meeting I conducted as VMN President, in October 2012.  I arrived frazzled and exhausted after staying up most of the night reading all the copies I could assemble of the minutes of past-Board meetings.  I was trying to find the loose threads that I might need to follow or tie up. Then I turned my attention to my Dad's very old, yellow-stained, version of the Robert's Rules of Order that he had used as President of some professional organization a long time ago. I was trying to learn how to conduct the meeting the next day. I was overwhelmed, but worked hard to be ready for the trust my tribe had placed in me.  As part of that personal growth of trusting myself and earning the trust of my tribe, I had: Attended a...

I've been discussing the "what" of mediation.  What kind of disputes are ripe for the process?  In my last posting found  here , I identified some very interesting disputes that a court or the parties have sent to mediation.               Hal Abramson, the author of Mediation Representation: Advocating in a Problem-Solving Process , suggests that certain types of disputes are especially amenable to mediation: ·         When the parties have conflicting views of the facts or law; ·         When a party needs to express strong emotions; ·         When a party craves the opportunity to be heard directly by the opposing party; ·         When clients or their lawyers can no longer effectively communicate with each other without the assistance of a skillful mediator; · ...

In 1999, Steven Keeva, the editor of the ABA Journal and author of Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life , had this to say about ADR: While alternative dispute resolution has made encouraging inroads over the last twenty years, the adversarial system continues to hover above ADR like an elephant over a chipmunk. I now suggest to my students that, in less than a decade, the metaphor has completely changed.  ADR is now the elephant hovering over the chipmunk of litigation.  For instance, a review of the ADR referral policies of the district judges in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri shows that the eight judges will refer almost all cases to mediation, especially if they present fact issues.  The judges do not make referrals when the cases involve: only questions of law; appeals from rulings of administrative agencies; habeas corpus and extraordinary writs; bankruptcy appeals; S...

I want to continue my discussion of how best to choose a mediator.  I started the discussion here .  This posting will focus on a few more factors to consider.   Mediator's Process Skills and Expertise  Mediation skills do not come naturally to any of us.  Some people call mediation an art.  Some people call it a craft.  Mediators acquire their skills through hard work and hands-on experience.  Good mediators spend their spare time reading books about interest-based negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution.  We do pro bono work to gain additional experience early in our mediation careers when no one will hire us.  So don’t be afraid to ask how many mediations the mediator has done and the nature of the disputes she has mediated.  You might even ask about her settlement rate.  But you should “avoid at any cost [a mediator] whose only goal is to achieve an agreement.” And “[b]e wary of a mediator who overstate...

This week, ASL hosted a Solo Practice workshop for its students.  I spoke on marketing a law practice.  For a very long time, I have enjoyed marketing in the law or mediation context.  It gives me an opportunity to describe the joy I feel when I can serve a client competently, efficiently, and at an affordable cost.  It gives me the opportunity to describe the skills, training, experience, and values I can offer potential clients.  It gives me the chance to talk with the folks I'd like to help. It also gives me a platform for writing about substantive topics that interest me, while -- I hope -- showing I am thoughtful, ethical, and competent.  It also allows me to learn more about people, their concerns, their stressors, and their businesses.   Recently, I started an online business coaching program called, UpLevel Your Business , offered by Christine Kane.  Last summer, I took her personal coaching program and found it very helpful. ...