Recent articles
-
Covid-19: Mediation between landlords and tenants – a critical tool now? Using mediation to resolve disputes could prove to be more efficient in the long term, and our economy might depend on it.
-
COVID-19 is an epoch-making opportunity to revamp our entire out-dated and adversarial civil procedure so that it is more in line with the principles of Ubuntu and the Constitution. At the same time we can massively expand access to justice in the digital world to all, including the poor, by using platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Skype.
-
COVID-19 has put the new Mediation Rule 41A of the High Court at the centre of our legal system. Attorneys are seeing their world turn upside down by social distancing and many are scrambling to understand how Rule 41A and online mediation will help them resolve their clients’ cases. However, it creates a problem-solving environment where a skilful and experienced mediator can help attorneys settle their clients’ cases or limit the issues in dispute.
-
Online dispute resolution (ODR) is a branch of dispute resolution which uses technology to facilitate the resolution of disputes between parties. In this respect it is often seen as being the online equivalent of Alternative dispute resolution. However, ODR can also augment these traditional means of resolving disputes by applying innovative techniques and online technologies to the process.
-
Multi-tiered dispute settlement and the introduction of Rule 41A is a significant evolution of South Africa’s legal system
-
Representing and advising clients in a mediation process – a new practice area for legal representatives. Mediation Advocacy is the technique of strategically presenting a client’s position, needs and interests in a non-adversarial way, and in recognizing that the negotiated outcome to a dispute is usually more flexible, satisfying and sustainable than an order imposed by a court or other tribunal.
-
The new normal - A pandemic presenting us with an imperative to manage commercial disputes effectively. Appropriate, adaptive dispute resolution broadens the range of services a legal practitioner can deliver with the result that he/she can address a wider range of client’s needs. This is particularly important in this era of a ‘disrupted normal’. Reliance on legal mechanisms under these circumstances is akin to using a blunt instrument to perform delicate surgery.