A Uniform National System of Mediation In The United States: Requiring National Training Standards and Guidelines for Mediators and State Mediation Programs

Authors

Brien Wassner, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

The necessity for establishing a uniform system of mediation training for mediators in the United States is evidenced by the inconsistencies in both the training of mediators throughout the country and the roles assumed by mediators during mediation. The more formal conception of mediation can be traced back to the 1976 Pound Conference, however mediation in general is much older than twenty-six years, and has since continuously evolved. Moreover, the concept of mediation, as defined by statute, training, and thereafter, licensing, varies amongst the states as well. Mediation provides a viable alternative to the rigid state and federal judicial systems’ requirements for court litigation, where disputing or conflicting parties can express their own concerns as to one another, and can, in turn, help the opposing party better understand its perspective. Mediation incurs minimal procedural requirements while providing unlimited opportunity for the parties to exercise flexibility in communicating their underlying concerns and priorities regarding the dispute. Furthermore, mediation permits the parties involved to play an active role in determining mutually amenable solutions and resolutions to their own conflict.

Disciplines

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Law

Recommended Citation

Brien Wassner, A Uniform National System of Mediation In The United States: Requiring National Training Standards and Guidelines for Mediators and State Mediation Programs, 4 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. (2002).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol4/iss1/1