East Meets West: An International Dialogue on Mediation and Med-Arb in the United States and China

Abstract

This verbatim transcript of the second international videoconference co-sponsored by the Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) and the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution of Pepperdine University School of Law, offering various Chinese and U.S. perspectives on the BAC initiative to establish the first free-standing mediation program, the first ever by an official arbitration commission in the People’s Republic of China, as well as evolving attitudes toward mediation and med-arb. Topics include: (1) the development and current state of business mediation in the U.S.; (2) the challenges and opportunities confronting China in developing stand-alone business mediation; (3) reflections on the skills necessary for mediators; (4) common pitfalls in mediation; (5) perspectives on med-arb (as opposed to stand-alone mediation); and (6) how to most effectively use mediation in conjunction with arbitration procedures.

Keywords: Mediation, conciliation, med-arb, arb-med, cross-cultural disputes, Chinese mediation, Chinese arbitration, U.S. mediation, U.S. arbitration, business mediation, hybrid processes, conciliation in arbitration, conflict management, dispute resolution, commercial disputes, corporate disputes