It has been my pleasure and honor to train hundreds of volunteer community mediators over the years. They deserve as much recognition as high profile mediators.

But first, who are these community volunteers?

I can't speak about volunteer community mediators across the country--only those I’ve trained. Given that limitation, they are far and away predominately women.. When asked why they want to volunteer, the overwhelming majority express a desire to give back to their fellow neighbors. When asked about their feelings regarding conflcts, the overwhelming majority cite the values of a peacemaker.

Aside from the knowledge and skills they’ll gain during the training, those most likely to be outstanding mediators share some characteristics:

Non-Judgmental Attitudes: Able to see the uniqueness of conflicts without preconception and stereotypes.

Strong Empathy: A genuine sense of compassion with individuals experiencing a dispute.

Desire to Listen - Listening not only to facts, but for underlying interests.

Patience: A recognition that conflcit resolution takes time and solutions can't be forced on the participants

If you want to join this distinguished group, training programs are available at local community mediation centers.

Typically the training programs are very low cost and only ask that you volunteer at the center for a period of time.

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Fred Jandt is the author of several books, including his latest, “How To Survive a Mediation.”

A range of disputes can be mediated from neighborhood disagreements to family feuds to complex commercial differences of opinion.

One mediator with an exceptional history of conducting complex commercial sessions is Layn Phillips, a retired federal judge. He was awarded the Distinguished Neutral of the Year award by the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals for the achievement for being in the forefront of complex commercial mediations for two decades.

Some of the cases he mediated include the NFL Concussion Litigation, the Michigan State University Sexual Abuse litigation, the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Acquisition litigation, the Wells Fargo Financial Account Securities case, and the Purdue Opioid settlement. These examples all seemed intractable, yet he found a way to move the parties towards settlement.

To prepare, his technique required a comprehensive, detailed legal briefing. During mediation, he encouraged both sides to make an honest appraisal of the weaknesses and strengths of their case and probable outcomes if it were to go to trial. When negotiation between parties falters, he utilizes caucuses to help separate emotions from the legal realities. And if negotiations fail, he made a formal recommendation to end the dispute.

Litigators involved in complex commercial disputes often prefer his evaluative style over a more facilitative one

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Fred Jandt is the author of several books, including his latest, “How To Survive a Mediation.”