The Mediation Field Guide: Transcending Litigation and Resolving Conflicts in Your Business or Organization

At last–the definitive one–stop guide for anyone who wants to know what mediation is and how it works. The Mediation Field Guide is a comprehensive primer that is filled with practical strategies for elevating conflict resolution to a process that can effectively resolve business, personal, community, and institutional disputes on multiple levels. Throughout the book, expert mediator Barbara Ashley Phillips provides insights into both the simplicity and complexity of the inner workings of mediation that will enable you to use the process with the skill and finesse of a professional mediator. "This is a first–rate work on both the ′why′ and the ′how′ of mediation. It is meaty, written in a refreshingly readable style, and is deserving of a very wide audience of professionals and interested members of the public."—David B. Wexler, professor of law and director, International Network on Therapeutic Jurisprudence, University of Puerto Rico, and Lyons Professor of Law and professor of psychology, University of Arizona "If you want to explore below the surface of conflict, if you want to open your heart as well as your mind; if you want to discover real wisdom from a master mediator, this is the book for you. Barbara Phillips is clear and profound, intelligent and attuned, expansive and insightful. Buy this book and find out why."—Kenneth Cloke, coauthor of Resolving Conflicts at Work and author of Mediating Dangerously "The Mediation Field Guide has something for everyone interested in learning about mediation′s promise. Barbara Ashley Phillips′s insights offer a lens that views the majesty of mediation in its broadest societal and historical context. The informed reader will be inspired and the uninitiated will be convinced."—James J. Alfini, professor of law, Northern Illinois University and past chair, American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution "This book will be extremely useful and enlightening for anyone involved or interested in mediation, whether as a client, party, lawyer, law student, or mediator. I would also highly recommend it to anyone involved in litigation, just to provide a fresh perspective. Phillips does an excellent job of mixing practical, real–life examples with theory. She also has an excellent grasp of the historical context of and deeper philosophical issues underlying the new mediation paradigm she describes. One can only hope that her ideas and approaches to resolving human conflicts become widespread and universally embraced."—Susan Daicoff, associate professor of law, Florida Coastal School of Law

Introduction: Mediation and Wholeness. PART ONE: WAY BEYOND LITIGATION. Chapter 1: The Big Shift. Chapter 2: Mediation in Action. Chapter 3: Strategies for War and Peace. Chapter 4: Transformation in Mediation. PART TWO: OBSTACLES TO RESOLUTION. Chapter 5: Self–Made Stumbling Blocks. Chapter 6: The Lawyer Culture. Chapter 7: Selecting a Lawyer for Your Mediation. PART THREE: PUTTING PRINCIPLES TO WORK. Chapter 8: Evaluating Mediation. Chapter 9: Selecting a Mediator. Chapter 10: Preparing to Mediate. Chapter 11: The Art of Mediating. Chapter 12: Mediating Employment Matters. Chapter 13: The Construction Industry: A Model to Ponder. Chapter 14: Turbo–Charging Contract Negotiations. Chapter 15: Charting Public and Private Policy. Chapter 16: The Emerging Synthesis. Appendix A. Exercise for Testing Perspective. Appendix B. Writing Agreements in Mediation. Appendix C. Cutting the Baby – Beyond Solomon′s Solution. Appendix D. The Emotional Stages of Letting Go of Conflict. Appendix E. Love of the Dance. Appendix F. Simple Mediation Confidentiality Agreement.

BARBARA ASHLEY PHILLIPS served as Assistant United States Attorney in federal district court, Oregon, before becoming a mediator. In over twenty years of mediation practice, she has resolved complex, multi–party disputes and a wide range of sensitive issues, including cases of sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, partnership disputes, and environmental issues, in such fields as construction, computers, insurance, medicine, securities, real estate, and aviation. She offers training in the U.S. and Canada through American West Institute for Conflict Resolution and the North American Institute for Conflict Resolution. She can be contacted at www.mediate.com/baphillips.

"Those Texas Mediators who wish to spread the culture of mediation should give this book to clients and non–mediator friends." (The Texas Mediator, 1/02) "It is rare to find a book that is both practical and profound..." ( ACResolution , Winter 2003)