The Red Velvet Lawyer

10/16 An Analysis of Qatar’s Mediation Law No. 20 of 2021, Mediator Impartiality : Using the Firestone Grid as an Analytical Tool Mediator impartiality, one of the core values of mediation, gets little specific attention in the Qatar Mediation Law. Instead , the Qatar Mediation law mentions impartiality or independence in very general  terms. This oversight will require Qatari leaders in the mediation field to supplement the law with rules and a code of ethics that defines mediator impartiality in a clear and culturally sensitive way.  Article 7 governing the register of mediators may  contemplate  this approach when it provides that the Council will " define[e] the conditions, controls, and procedures of [mediator] registration."  Conduct that makes a party believe that the mediator has lost his or her impartiality is the most frequently cited reason for filing a complaint against a mediator in the U.S. states of Virginia and Maine. It appears as the second m...

9/16 An Analysis of Qatar’s Mediation Law No. 20 of 2021, Party Self-Determination, Part 4: Mediator Influence, Process Design, and Party  Control Over the Process In my last post here , I discussed a framework, developed by Prof. Leonard Riskin , for considering issues of party self-determination and the extent of mediator influence in the process design and process choices.  In two earlier posts here and here , I considered party self-determination over substantive issues arising in the mediation, as well as high-quality decision-making about the outcome. As I noted in my earlier post, m any steps in the mediation process invite input from the parties or their lawyers.  But, the program design or the interventions of a mediator can undermine that procedural self-determination. The following list provides some of the process decisions in which parties or their lawyers could exercise more decision-making authority and, thus, more control: Can the parties choose mediation...

8/16 An Analysis of Qatar’s Mediation Law No. 20 of 2021, Party Self-Determination, Part 3: Mediator Influence, Process Design, and Process Choices Party self-determination in mediation has both substantive and procedural aspects.  In my last post , I discussed how the Qatar Mediation Law potentially impacted the parties' substantive self-determination and high-quality decision-making about the outcome. Procedural Self-determination and Party Control of the Process In this post, I look at party self-determination over the process design and process choices during the mediation.  To structure this discussion, I first describe another framework for analyzing the Qatar Mediation Law.   Many steps in the mediation process invite input from the parties or their lawyers.  But, the program design or the interventions of a mediator can undermine that procedural self-determination. The following list provides some of the process decisions in which parties or their lawyers cou...

7/16 An Analysis of Qatar’s Mediation Law No. 20 of 2021, Party Self-Determination, Part 2: Substantive Decision-Making In my last post here , I set out a framework for  analyzing  the provisions of the Qatar Mediation Law  impacting party self-determination, high-quality decision making, and the quality of the process. I used a framework developed by Prof. John Lande in his law review article,  How Will Lawyering and Mediation Practices Transform Each Other? , 24 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 839 (1997), available  here . The Lande Framework Lande identifies seven factors affecting the quality of party decision making: "The factors include: (1) explicit identification of the principal's goals and interests, (2) explicit identification of plausible options for satisfying these interests, (3) the principal's explicit selection of options for evaluation, (4) careful consideration of these options, (5) mediators' restraint in pressuring principals to accept particular substa...

6/16 An Analysis of Qatar’s Mediation Law No. 20 of 2021, Party Self-Determination, Part 1 So far, in analyzing Qatar's Mediation Law, I have provided posts covering: An introduction to the law and my analytical focus here . My interest and expertise in the subject matter here . A cultural disclaimer here . The definition of mediation here , and  The scope of the law here . I will now turn to how the law supports or undermines the core values of mediation recognized in the U.S. and other countries.  Those core values are: Party self-determination Mediator neutrality, and Confidentiality of communications made during the process. For each of these discussions, I will provide one post to describe the analytical framework I am using. In the next post, I'll apply that framework to Qatar's Mediation Law. Lande Analytical Framework for Party Self-Determination In 2006, I wrote the first law review article analyzing the Revised Model Standards of Conduct for Media...