Eva Male Interviews Robert Creo
IAM Founding Member
Bob Creo is interviewed by Eva Male in this June 13, 2003, article from Australia.
June 2003What is mediation?
Mediation is assisted
negotiation. A mediator is invited into a conflict. The mediator usually
has no interest in the actual outcome and in that sense is impartial. Mediation
is a voluntarily private process in which a third person, who has been chosen
by both parties, facilitates communication between the parties to attempt
to reach settlement of their dispute.
When was mediation
invented? Are there different types and styles?
Mediation is thousands
of years old and was used to resolve trade, commercial, social and political
disputes for centuries. Mediation has been an integral aspect of many tribes
and cultures, especially those founded on a harmony, rather than an adversarial
basis of interaction.
Modern common law
and civil law jurisdictions utilize an adversarial model to resolve conflicts.
The idea being that each party argues or advocates contrary positions and
a third party (monarch, judge, jury, arbitrator) issues a binding decision.
Mediation is an alternative to decisions being imposed by the power of the
state or sanctioned by the government. However, contracts reached in mediation
are just as binding as those entered into voluntarily by the parties.
Some types of mediation
include: Workplace Mediation (e.g., disputes involving employment issues);
Business Mediation (e.g., disputes involving tax issues); Family Mediation
(e.g., disputes involving family and relationship counseling issues); and Community
Mediation (e.g., disputes involving community groups and organizations).
Some styles of mediation
include: 1) Facilitative: this is where the mediator structures a process
to assist the parties in reaching a mutually agreeable resolution; 2) Evaluative:
this is where the mediator assists the parties in reaching resolution by pointing
out the weaknesses of their cases and predicting what a judge or jury would
decide; and 3) Transformative: this style is based on the values of empowerment
of each of the parties as much as possible, and recognition by each of the
parties of the other parties’ needs, interests, values and points of view.
Who can become
a mediator?
Anyone
can become a mediator as long as they have excellent communication skills
and most importantly the licensing requirements required by their state.
For example, see the following qualifications for Pennsylvania state law.
Pennsylvania
No
state requirements for the practice of mediation. Parties may choose any mediator.
The PA Supreme Court
established minimum qualifications for mediation in custody and visitation
cases through family court programs and court-ordered mediation for individual
cases. Local courts may impose additional, more stringent qualifications.
Minimum qualifications are: 1) a bachelor's degree and practical experience
in law, psychiatry, psychology, counseling, family therapy or any comparable
behavioral or social science field; 2) successful completion of approved basic
training in domestic and family violence or child abuse and a divorce and
custody mediation program; 3) mediation professional liability insurance;
and 4) additional mediation training consisting of a minimum of 4 mediated
cases totaling 10 hours under the supervision of a mediator who is approved
by the court to supervise other mediators; 5) compliance with the ethical
standards of the mediator profession as well as those of his or her primary
profession; 6) 20 hours of continuing education every two years in topics
related to family mediation. A post-graduate student enrolled in a state or
federally accredited educational institution in the disciplines of law, psychiatry,
psychology, counseling, family therapy or any comparable behavioral or social
science field may mediate with direct and actual supervision by a qualified
mediator.
I am certain that
your country has sophisticated family mediation laws and centers providing
ADR services.
In which areas/types of cases is mediation mostly applied?
Mediation is applied wherever there is conflict or as
an alternative to litigation. This includes disputes involving divorce, child
custody, commercial, construction, healthcare, medical malpractice, personal
injury and product liability. I have personally mediated cases in all of
those areas.
Why do you think mediation is so successful in the U.S.?
I think mediation is successful due to the fact that
it is less expensive to go to mediation as opposed to going to court and not
to mention less time consuming. Many states, especially Florida, Texas and California,
have integrated mediation into their legal systems and cultures. For example,
Florida has a mandatory referral to mediation for every civil dispute.
You are a founding member of the “IAM." Where is it based, what exactly does it do?
[ See Website www.iamed.org or www.mediate.com ]
IAM maintains administrative offices in Southfield, Michigan, where our Secretary Treasurer, Tracy Allen, and our President-Elect, Paul Monicatti,
are based. Jeffrey Krivis is President and lives near Los Angeles. The Presidency
gets changed every two years. IAM is a non-profit professional organization.
The mission of IAM is to define standards and qualifications for the professional
mediator of commercial disputes and to promote the mediation process with
a means of resolving disputes.
The IAM focuses on professional enhancement and collegiality
for its 100 members. We have two conferences each year in North America and
an event every two to four years in Europe.
Do you remember any case in your career, where mediation
worked particularly well?
It is difficult to select one successful case from the
hundreds I have been involved in since 1979. I have dealt with the grief of
death and catastrophic personal injury losses. I have seen so much trauma
and pain of victims on both sides of a conflict.
I am proud to have contributed to any closure and healing
that has happened as a direct result of mediation.
One case, however, involved a father who backed over
his 3 year old son with his power riding lawn mower and cut off his arm.
The mother blamed the father and the father the mother for not watching the
boy. They sued the maker of the lawn mower for defective product on the theory
that the blades should stop when the mower is in reverse. A settlement was
obtained which provided lifetime financial security for the boy.
The parents reconciled at the end of the mediation. I unexpectedly observed
them at the airport on the way home the next day holding hands and smiling.
I did not interrupt nor let them know I saw them. On my plane ride home I
was looking at the window and started to cry... I guess a release of all the
emotions of the previous two days. The man sitting next to me asked if I
was OK.
I responded, “I couldn’t be better.”
I think this answers the last question but ...
Why did you personally become a mediator?
It is emotionally, spiritually and professionally gratifying.
The sense of accomplishment when a conflict resolves is enriching. It is
more of an avocation or calling for many mediators than a job.
