Roundtable Breakfast - Mediator Ethics: 'no view from nowhere'?

Monthly

NYC-DR Roundtable Breakfast

Barbara Wilson, PhD

Mediator Ethics: 'no view from nowhere'?

Mediator ethics have been discussed numerous times, especially within the legal canon. A gathering to debate ethics risks turning into anything from a snoozefest to heated argument and polarization. Well-worn topics include the purpose and extent of the mediator's role, impartiality, neutrality and mediation's relationship to the law and due process, to mention a few. Attempts to guide or regulate practice through codes of conduct can be problematic and even contradictory.

Ethical practice is about what to do, when, how--and why. Every question we ask and every intervention we make as ADR practitioners has philosophical foundations, however unexamined.

This informal session will invite exploration of some of the deeper beliefs underpinning various mediation models and practices, and why 'there is no view from nowhere'.

Barbara Wilson, PhD. became a mediator in 1990, following a career in the civil, family and criminal courts. She mediates family and workplace disputes in the south of England and London and is approved by the Legal Services Commission to provide publicly funded family mediation. Barbara is published in the UK, the USA and Australia, where she is also accredited. She is a visiting lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Law, University of Strathclyde, having taught in Graduate Certificate and MSc Conflict Resolution and Mediation Studies courses previously run by the Institute of Family Therapy (partnered with Birkbeck College, University of London). Barbara is a professional practice consultant and runs workshops for experienced mediators and others dealing with interpersonal conflicts, both in the UK and internationally. Her research interests included applied ADR theory, ethics and the development of mediator expertise.