As a US expat, I am on average asked 3 or 4 times a week just what exactly is going on with America, the election and in particular with Donald Trump.  I explain that Americans (particularly middle Americans) are rebelling against the established order and are supporting candidates from the far right like Donald Trump

The Art of Dealing with Difficult Clients and Difficult Lawyers   Founder and CEO of The Mediation Experts, Farley S. Tolpen was delighted to give an invited presentation last night titled “How to Recognise and Deal with Difficult Clients and Difficult Lawyers”. Farley is well known for his inspiring and enthusiastic talks and he was

Farley was once again invited to give a presentation to a medium sized law firm yesterday on dealing with challenging clients and lawyers. Those of you who have met Farley will be familiar with his friendly personality and witty sense of humor which helped ensure everyone stayed involved and intrigued throughout! During this presentation Farley

As we enter the new year and I reflect on my life as a mediator, I am proud of my achievements. I have a passion for mediation. The results are reflected in the feedback I receive from clients and the fact that around 90% of all matters that I mediate reach resolution. Concomitantly, I have

MEDIATION – THE 90% SOLUTION It has been my experience that around 90 per cent of conflicts are resolved at mediation. I achieve this high success rate because of a combination of two factors.  One is my ability to work impartially with understanding and respect and build rapport with each of the protagonists and/or their

Cyclones cause havoc and so do disputes. Today, I spent hours hosing down my driveway and veranda. As I was guerneying, I came to realize that the skillset needed to achieve a good result was similar to that needed for a successful mediation: Patience. You cannot go any faster than the clients/guerney equipment; Mindfulness. You

I enjoy my work as a mediator and I find that time passes quickly when I am in the middle of a mediation. I recently held a session between two parties and their respective lawyers. The dispute had been going on for more than 4 years and a great deal of money was involved. There

FROM ANGER AND BITTERNESS TO RELIEF AND SMILES – A SUCCESSFUL MEDIATION! One of the joys of mediation is when parties are able to not only resolve the conflict, but also come to terms with their emotions. I recently conducted a business mediation between two directors who had been with the same company for over

WHY I MEDIATE Someone asked me the other day why am I so passionate about mediation. I thought for a moment and told him that my mission statement as a mediator is to leave to world a better place than I found it. What that means is that as an individual, I can help resolve

Mediation – The Process of Healing By Farley Tolpen, CEO. So what do you do when you have two parties at each other’s throats for over 4 years? This was one of those classic situations you see every day in cheesy 80’s sitcoms. This involved two people who were constantly shouting at each other and