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As the founder and CEO of the Core Solutions Group, I spend a great deal of time thinking and speaking about mediation, negotiation, conflict management, leadership and communication. I am told I should write some of these thoughts down… so, here goes…
“Mediation is no-one’s little brother. Mediation is not alternative dispute resolution. It is not the easy option. Mediation is how the most intractable issues can be resolved.” In over twenty years of writing in these law …
On 28 and 29 May 2025, John Sturrock gave presentations at the annual IAM Conference in Gold Coast, Australia, entitled “Shifting Sands”. John’s themes were Regressing from Getting to Yes: The Return of Zero Sum? and …
Over the past several months I have worked with many different professional people across the health and social care sectors, government, sport, higher education and others. I have been struck by the commonality of some …
“Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears”. Surely some mistake, I thought; shouldn’t it be the other way round? Swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning-hooks? It was during Evensong at the magnificent …
It was reported recently that representatives of French footballer Kylian Mbappe had rejected a proposal that he participate in mediation to try and resolve a dispute with his former club, Paris St Germain, over claims …
Recently I spent several hours in Edinburgh in the company of my good friend William Ury. As many readers will know, Ury is co-author of what is arguably the most influential book ever written on …
The Magic in Mediation This is a longer blog post than is normal but I will not be alone in describing Ken Cloke as one of the most influential figures in my life, both professionally and …
Recently in these pages (16 October), I mentioned a talk I’d given to a Worldwide Advocacy Conference in July 1998. Then, I’d identified two related developments with implications for civil courts. One, which I discussed …
“It’s all about trust, isn’t it?” observed my assistant mediator in a recent mediation where property investors resolved a long-running dispute with their professional advisers, having incurred considerable legal costs. It was good to see …
Stewart McDonald MP (SNP Defence Spokesperson) describes the horrors experienced in Ukraine and articulates well the concerns felt there about any change in the West’s position, prompted by “extreme voices from the left and the …
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