Biggest Challenges Faced By An Arbitrator And Mediator At Simburg Dispute Resolution
Mel's biggest challenge as an arbitrator is the responsibility of making "all or nothing" decisions where only one side can win, requiring "very thorough thought" to weigh the law and facts. In mediation, the challenge lies in subtly guiding parties toward a settlement without expressing personal opinions, maintaining the trust of both sides for the process to work.
Decision-Making, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, Impartiality, Legal
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Mel Simburg
Arbitrator and Mediator
Simburg Dispute Resolution
University of California at Berkeley
Columbia University: Juris Doctor, Masters of International Affairs
Political Science, American Studies
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Law
Legal
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. The difficulty of making decisions in arbitration due to the "all or nothing" nature of the process and the responsibility of impacting both parties.
2. The challenge of maintaining neutrality as a mediator while subtly guiding parties towards a settlement. The mediator must avoid expressing personal opinions to maintain the trust of all involved.
3. The contrast between the decision-making role of an arbitrator and the facilitative role of a mediator, highlighting the differing skill sets required for each role.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
As an arbitrator, it can be very difficult to make a decision because both sides usually have very good arguments, and you realize that only one side can win. One side is going to lose, so it's an all-or-nothing result, and that's a lot of responsibility to bear as an arbitrator.
It requires very thorough thought and weighing of both the law and the facts to come up with those decisions and then to convey those consequences to the parties. Mediation is different because I don't do any deciding in mediation.
I am helping the parties find a path to a successful settlement. One of the challenges of doing that is my role needs to be somewhat in the background. I should not give my own opinion unless there are certain circumstances in a mediation where giving my opinion would be helpful to the parties.
Typically, although I think they should head somewhere and achieve a certain result, I have to convey that intent by asking questions and by conveying information from one party to the other. If I give my opinion, or if I tell someone that I think they have certain risks, then that side is going to feel that I have formed an opinion in favor of the other side, and they won't trust me as much.
For mediation to work, I need to maintain the trust of both parties to be able to work with both of them without one feeling that I'm partial to one side or the other.
Advizer Personal Links
SimburgDR.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mel-simburg-1277ba/