In Print
The Middle Voice: Mediating Conflict Successfully (Carolina Academic Press, Second Edition, 2013) BY JOSEPH B. STULBERG AND LELA P. LOVE
Many times, lawyers find themselves helping others resolve their disputes. That is what a mediator does. The question is not whether you will mediate. The question is: How well will you do it?
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T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
n Conflict is inescapable. Although a lawyer is often called upon to formally mediate a legal controversy, many people assist others to resolve their disputes by skillfully and effectively using facilitating skills and strategies in their role as supervisor, co-worker, parent, organizational leader, or community activist. The question is not whether you will mediate. The question is: How well will you do it? The Middle Voice, co-authored by Joseph B. Stulberg, the Michael E. Moritz Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Lela P. Love, professor at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, provides a theoretical framework and prescriptive strategies for successfully mediating conflicts. Particularly in this era of polarized tensions and escalating conflict that leads many people to believe that conflicts are intractable, the lessons from The Middle Voice affirm that it is possible for skilled dispute resolution interveners to help disparate,
passionate parties in individual or group settings negotiate actionable agreements constructively and fairly. Mediation promotes three primary goals: assist disputants with improving their understanding of their situation and one another; engage in problemsolving efforts; and find acceptable solutions. Unlike a judge or arbitrator, the mediator has no authority to impose a binding decision on the disputants. With respect to acceptable solutions to the controversy, in the jargon of the alternative dispute resolution field, the dispute and its resolution belongs to the parties. The authors provide a targeted description of each of the mediator’s important job responsibilities, including one’s role as: chairperson, communicator, educator, resource expander, agent of reality, guardian of durable solutions, scapegoat, and protector of the process; they then identify and discuss 20 personality traits that are relevant to a person performing those tasks effectively.