Resources

As 2019 winds down and 2020 beckons, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the year that has passed and make plans for the new year.

For this year's Singapore Mediation Lecture, we were honoured to have Mr Edwin Tong SC to share his perspectives on the past, present and future of mediation for Singapore. For a summary of the Lecture, click here to read more.

This year, The Unfolding Conversations event looked at the construction industry and how mediation can help. Click here to find out.

Want to know more on the Mediation scene in Singapore? Click here to find out.

Read on to find out more on the Singapore Convention on Mediation here.

Dealing with website name disputes and not sure what to do? Fret not! SMC has you covered.

Our guest writer, Ms Choo Jin Hua, from the MOHH Healthcare Mediation Unit explains why healthcare disputes should be mediated and how it can help disputing parties.

For this issue, our guest writer, Ms Shobna Chandran shares five top tips to help mediators value add to their next case. Read on more to find out what those tips are.

Read on more on to see how powerful a tool mediation can be in joint venture disputes with case studies to further emphasize that point.

Trying to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your case, but not sure where to go? Fret not! Read on more to know what Neutral Evaluation is all about and how it helps parties with their cases.

This month's article, contributed by Ms Helen Chia-Thomas, shares more on Collaborative Family Practices.

Thinking of construction projects in 2019? Think of the Singapore Infrastructure Dispute-Management Protocol (SIDP)!

In our last newsletter for the year, we look back at our achievements in 2018, and look forward to what's to come in the new year.

For this year's Singapore Mediation Lecture, we were honoured to have Ms Joanna Kalowski to speak on her experience with cultural mediation. For a summary of the Lecture, click here to read more.

This month, we look at the lessons businesses can learn from our recent Unfolding Conversations dinner.

This month's article was contributed by Samreen Hooda and Colin Rule of Tyler Technologies. It explores how technology can be designed to help parties prevent, manage and resolve conflicts online.

This month, we share an article first published by the SMU Office of Research & Tech Transfer on recent research into the best timing to attempt mediation.

This month we share the part 2 of a 2-part series on reasons advised by lawyer-mediators to consider before undertaking mediation.

What factors should parties take note of when faced with a dispute? In the first of a 2-part series, we breakdown some points for parties to consider.

This month, Ms Kuah Boon Theng, Senior Counsel, Managing Director of Legal Clinic LLC shares her thoughts and experience on healthcare mediation

This month, we look at the types of non-monetary settlements that people may make at mediation.

This month, we look at the use of mediation within the courts in Singapore.

This month, we look at the proposed Telecommunication and Subscription TV Mediation-Adjudication Scheme.

This month's newsletter looks at the suite of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services SMC offers.

As our 20th year comes to a close, we look back at SMC's achievements in 2017.

This month's newsletter looks at SMC's Insolvency Panel and Unfolding Conversations.

This year's Singapore Mediation Lecture was delivered by Professor Carrie Menkel-Meadow on “Mediation 3.0: Merging the Old and the New”. Read more to find out Prof. Menkel-Meadow's perspective of the evolution of Mediation.

The Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) recently celebrated its 20th anniversary in August 2017. Let us look back at the historical milestones and achievements that have made SMC what it is today, and where SMC is heading towards the future.

This month, we look at healthcare disputes in Singapore and SMC's schemes for the Healthcare industry.

Mediation training constitutes an investment in professional development. Read more to find out how Dispute Resolution Training can help Professionals, Managers, Engineers and Technicians (PMETs) to manage conflicts and resolve issues.

After you choose to mediate your dispute, how should you prepare for your mediation? This month's article provides some simple tips that can have an impact during your mediation.

What qualities should people look out for in their lawyer when going through a mediation? Read this month's newsletter to find out more.

This month, the newsletter highlights SMC's Mediation Charter and how it can benefit your organisation

Learn how mediation can bring about positive outcomes for businesses through cost reduction and resource allocation.

This month, we look at the Mediation Bill and its impact on the dispute resolution landscape in Singapore.

Our friends and mediators shared their thoughts and wishes for the year 2017. Find out more in our January Mediate newsletter.

SMC's Executive Director Mr Loong Seng Onn recaps SMC's achievements for the year.

At this year’s Singapore Mediation Lecture, we were given insights into the future of mediation, and the advances in ODR achieved internationally. ODR is simply the use of information and communications technology to help parties resolve their disputes. Mr Colin Rule, previously the director of ODR at eBay and PayPal, now co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Modria.com, an ODR provider based in Silicon Valley, shared his experiences with us.

In these challenging times, the maritime industry needs efficient and effective dispute resolution mechanisms. At SMC's by-invitation-only signature event Unfolding Conversations- Navigating Stormy Relationships on 28 September 2016, business leaders from the maritime community had the opportunity to observe and learn about the use of ADR processes to resolve their disputes.

This month, our guest writers Mr K Anparasan and Ms Sharon Lin of Withers KhattarWong LLP share their thoughts on mediation as an insurance law practitioner.

We’ve published many articles on how mediation can resolve disputes quickly and effectively, but did you know that there are also different styles of mediation? This month, we introduce three styles that are commonly discussed.

Drawing on SMC's 19 years of experience in facilitating mediations, this newsletter explores some factors that can lead to a higher likelihood of a mediation succeeding.

Using mediation to resolve disputes is most effective when parties are fully committed to the process. However, sometimes commitment alone will not suffice. In this issue, we look at common reasons why mediation may not result in settlement.

This issue, we shed light on some mediation myths so that you can arrive at the best possible decision for your business or client.

SMC consultant Lee Wai Pong shares his thoughts on the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the maritime sector.

Fresh off the first Global Pound Conference (GPC) held in Singapore, we share some of the highlights from this historic event.

This month's newsletter discusses the changes to the Supreme Court Practice Directions (Amendment No 1 of 2016) for civil cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

In the first newsletter of 2016, we begin with a year in review and take a peek at the new and exciting events to come.

As the year comes to a close, it is customary to take stock of what one has done and to articulate wishes for the New Year.

At the 4th Singapore Mediation Lecture held last month, SMC had the pleasure of hosting Dr iur Hans Peter Frick who addressed an audience on embracing a mediation culture when managing business disputes. Dr Frick was the former Group General Counsel of Nestlé SA and he shared his journey about how mediation benefited him and eventually the company.

In these challenging and uncertain times, how can businesses maintain control over their business outcomes? At SMC’s by-invitation-only signature event “Unfolding Conversations” on 7 October, more than 120 business leaders had the opportunity to explore strategies to maintain control over the outcome of their business disputes through a simulated mediation session and a panel discussion.

To ensure professionalism and to raise standards in mediation, the Singapore Government has decided to set up a new independent non-profit entity called the Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI). SMC is one of the first partners to come on board with SIMI, and its programmes are accredited by SIMI.

Resolving insolvency disputes as a mediator is hard work, but also immensely satisfying. The mediation skills required will vary from case to case. The Honourable James M. Peck, SMC Mediator, global co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Business Restructuring & Insolvency Group, New York, shares his experience and observations about what works well in insolvency cases.

With both mediation and arbitration gaining popularity as Alternative Dispute Resolution methods, it is not uncommon for disputes to go through both processes before the dispute is resolved. This luxury of choice can be a good thing for clients, but raises concerns over the role of the arbitrator in mediation.

We often say that a good mediator should possess 3 ‘P’s – Problem-solving skills, People skills and Process skills. A mediator needs to have problem-solving skills to grasp complex issues quickly, uncover their underlying interests, help parties with option generation and reality testing.

Do you know which is better - to make private arrangements (ad-hoc mediation) or seek the services of a dedicated mediation centre? Read on to find out more.

At SMC, we endeavour to build on Mr Lee’s vision of the legal system, by providing a host of quality alternative dispute resolution services to complement Singapore’s court system, providing access to justice for all in the process, and helping to put Singapore on the world map for premier legal services.

There is great potential for mediation to facilitate deal-making and transactional negotiations such as mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.The mediator improves the overall quality and efficiency of negotiations by cultivating open dialogue and avoiding competitive or adversarial negotiations.

When parties are of different cultural backgrounds, it may be useful to have co-mediators of those same cultures to address the different communication styles, cultural norms and reservations.

Mediation had a bumper year in 2014. There was a 57% increase in the number of mediation matters as compared to 2013 (from 214 matters to 337 matters). We are confident that the numbers will continue to grow in 2015.

As the year comes to a close, we revisit the many new developments at SMC. This would not have been possible without the contributions and support of our dedicated mediators and business associates. We express our sincerest appreciation to you.

Are there benefits of mediation to lawyers? Read more on why some of our lawyer-mediators choose mediation in this month's issue. Also, as we are wrapping up for the year of 2014 in the next issue, we would like to hear your feedback in our SMC End-of-Year survey.

General Electric (GE) generates US$146b in annual revenue and has a presence in 170 countries. Why does an MNC like GE embrace mediation? Find out more from Mr Bradford Berenson, Vice President and Senior Counsel for Litigation and Legal Policy of GE.

In this inaugural issue, we have featured an article by Dr Joseph Sheares. Dr Sheares will provide his take on how subject matter expertise can be useful for mediation. In this regard, and in response to customer needs, SMC is introducing sub-panels of industry specialist mediators.