This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here, point #2 here, point #3 here, point #4 here, and point #5 here.

6. Ombuds Avoid Formal Processes

Ombuds provide only informal dispute resolution. They do not investigate, arbitrate, adjudicate or otherwise participate in any formal resolution process whether internal or external to their organization. Complainants are not required to use the ombuds services before beginning a formal process and doing so does not provide any advantage. Instead, Ombuds provide informal assistance by listening to their visitors, identifying issues, developing options for resolution, facilitating dialog and mediating disputes.

This is not to say that ombuds will not discuss formal options for resolution. Indeed, ombuds are an important resource because they offer a safe place for individuals to raise and consider a range of approaches to a particular situation. Ombuds thus have an obligation to be knowledgeable about the policies and procedures of their organization. If informal efforts fail and an individual decides to pursue a formal process, an Ombuds make a referral to the appropriate resource. However, the Ombuds will not participate in any subsequent formal proceeding as a witness, advocate, monitor or any other way.

The willingness to participate in formal processes marks a fundamental difference between classical and organizational Ombuds. Because classical Ombuds participate in formal processes, they are often mentioned in court decisions as parties or important percipient witnesses. Generally, case law involves classical Ombuds more often than organizational Ombuds. Unfortunately, the critical distinction between Ombuds is not mentioned by the courts (or inadvertently mischaracterized). Therefore, when doing legal research attorneys should be careful to understand what type of Ombuds was involved in a particular case.

Tom’s series will continue in the new year.

            

This from ReligiousTolerance.org:

Winter Solstice celebrations: a.k.a. Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule, the Long Night, etc.

Overview

Religious folk worldwide observe many seasonal days of celebration during the month of December. Most are religious holy days, and are linked in some way to the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. On that day, due to the earth’s tilt on its axis, the daytime hours are at a minimum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a maximum. (In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum. We will assume that the reader lives in the Northern hemisphere for the rest of this essay.)

People view other religions in various ways, and thus treat the celebrations of other faiths differently [Go to their site for the link…]

This from Thinking Ethics on an ethical Christmas:

Surfing around for tips on ethical Christmas turns up lots of gift ideas. But the best advice is from Ekklesia with five steps towards a more ethical Christmas. [Go to their site for the link…]

HOWEVER YOU THINK OF IT, WHATEVER YOUR FORM OF CELEBRATING IT — HAPPY, HAPPY DAY!

Stephanie West Allen at Idealawg and Julie Fleming Brown at Life at the Bar announced their 2d Annual Lawyers Appreciate meme yesterday, asking tagged attorney bloggers to post on professional appreciation. Stephanie tagged me and Vickie Pynchon of Settle It Now Negotiation Blog and Diane Levin of Online Guide to Mediation. I am tagging Tom Kosakowski of The Ombuds Blog, Sheryl Sisk Schelin of The Inspired Solo, and Vonda Vandaveer of the U.S. Business and Immigration Law blog.

Lawyers Appreciate Justice

Justice is formally defined and its applications debated but equally important it is personally lived (albeit in important ways unconsciously). Life keeps lawyers as busy as it keeps most people. To me, this means lawyers like most people often are not mindful of what they are doing and its impact on others. Lawyers are “people” first (lawyer jokes notwithstanding) and, as such, subject to all human blind spots and biases. Their individual actions, like those of all people, can be unjust and have unjust consequences.

But lawyers chose and worked hard to become lawyers, which means understanding and working with the law and serving their clients. I believe most lawyers appreciate justice. At any moment there are individual lawyers who are cynical and corrupt but most, I believe, are simply doing their best as they understand it.

Some say “power corrupts” but I think it more accurate to say “power reveals”. Lawyers like everyone else reveal their human blind spots and biases in their professions and their lives. Engaging Conflicts includes mindful examination of ethics and spirit to give lawyers a time away from their routine, unconscious thought and time in which to pause and consider something they appreciate, something they had in mind when they committed to practicing law, justice.

12/23 Update: here’s Sheryl’s post at The Inspired Solo, Lawyers Appreciate … Their Friends.

12/24 Update: here’s Vickie’s post at Settle It Now Negotiation Blog, Lawyers Appreciate Year-End Appreciation Memes.

12/29 Update: here’s Diane’s post at Online Guide to Mediation, Lawyers Appreciate Democracy.

            

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here, point #2 here, point #3 here, and point #4 here.

5. Ombuds are Neutral and Impartial

To be credible and effective, ombuds operate independently and without interference. This independence is achieved primarily through organizational recognition and reporting structure. Ombuds should report administratively to the highest possible office and should have the endorsement of the chief executive.

In assessing whether an ombuds is independent in structure, function, and appearance, the following factors are important: whether anyone subject to the ombuds’s jurisdiction or anyone directly responsible for a person under the ombuds’s jurisdiction (a) can control or limit the ombuds’s performance of assigned duties or (b) can, for retaliatory purposes, (1) eliminate the office, (2) remove the ombuds, or (3) reduce the budget or resources of the office. (ABA, Standards for the Establishment and Operation of Ombuds Offices, p. 3.)

Ombuds also are vigilant about their neutrality. As with mediators, ombuds do not take sides in any conflict, dispute or issue. Ombuds do not advocate for any party in a dispute, nor do they default to defending their organization. Ombuds strive to consider the interests and concerns of all stakeholders in order to facilitate dialog and assist parties work toward fair and equitable resolutions. Therefore, ombuds generally shun any relationships within their organization that could create a conflict of interest. In light of their peculiar, self-imposed isolation, most ombuds consider themselves “inside outsiders.”

Tom’s series will continue later.

            

“[It’s key] to get professional conflict managers/mediators into key government elected positions and put them in charge of foreign relations and domestic security.” — Rey Carr

Engaging Conflicts Today interviews Rey Carr, Chief Executive Officer of Peer Resources, whose mission is to provide high quality training, superior educational resources, and practical consultation to persons who wish to establish or strengthen peer helping, peer support, peer mediation, peer referral, peer education, peer coaching, and mentor programs in schools, universities, communities, and corporations. He has a Ph.D. in metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology, a Master of Arts Degree in Clinical-School Psychology, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology.

Rey’s interview is part of the Taking Peacemaking Public series at Engaging Conflicts Today. If you would like a copy of his interview, and are not signed up for the newsletter (which you can do in the sidebar on the right!), email me this week at engagingconflicts@gmail.com with Rey Carr in the subject line and I’ll email it to you.

            

Ralph Perrine has an article recently published at ChangeThis, described thusly:

Ralph Perrine believes drawing to be indispensable to good planning and good collaboration-the top two critical skills for success in life. Here, he shares twelve drawings to help bring focus and clarity to teams and any personal planning.

Well, actually, only 4 drawings are presented in the article but they are helpful and were enough to send me to his website where he is selling the full set as a 12-month 2008 calendar. The 4 in the article are:

• Balancing Your Life (this one has a charming metaphor so read below for more on it)
• 360 Degree Awareness (”helps you learn to widen your awareness so you can spot opportunities and issues earlier. Great ideas, and opportunities, as well as important issues often lie in our periphery, waiting for us to connect the dots.”)
• Critical Path (”helps you think through a sequence of important items you must navigate through in order to reach an objective. Do this exercise with a group to spot risks or issues ahead of time.”)

• The Bright Core (”helps you think about your ‘playing field.’ More specifically, where you are in relation to competitors, vs. where you want to be.”) Read more »
              

Diane Levin recently wrote a great celebratory post spotlighting the state of ADR blogging at her award winning blog Online Guide to Mediation, which is coming up on its third anniversary. In September 2006 I wrote this post on lawyer “versus” ADR blogging, thanks to her work:

Lawyer bloggers are ahead of mediator bloggers. Law blogs emerged in 2002, and, from a handful, the number has grown to over 1,500, according to a recent article published on the American Bar Association web site. Mediator blogs, in comparison, languish as an active “sport.” Indeed, Diane Levin, a mediator, trainer and attorney in the Greater Boston area, reports that there are today perhaps only 59 - yes, 59 - active blogs either devoted to alternative dispute resolution or regularly featuring posts about ADR, including Engaging Conflicts. Her blog, Online Guide to Mediation, was one of the first (in January 2005, I think). A leader then, she has maintained her commitment to excellence in blogging, and has started a new project, a directory of ADR blogs, found here.

Read her update to see how ADR blogging has grown (link above)! Read more »

            

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here, point #2 here, and point #3 here.

4. Ombuds Protect Their Independence

Independence is a central tenet of ombuds practice. To be credible and effective ombuds must be free from interference in the legitimate performance of their duties in fact and appearance. This independence is achieved primarily through organizational recognition, reporting structure, and neutrality. In addition, ombuds should not have any other responsibilities within their organization that would create a conflict of interest. Ombuds strive to operate independently of most administrative authorities and to report to the highest office possible. Ombuds are thus free to become involved in matters without concern for bureaucratic entanglement or restrictions.

Attorneys accustomed to hierarchical procedures and limited job descriptions may find the independence of ombuds discomforting. However, attorneys should realize that ombuds cannot provide their critical service if constrained by protocol or conflicts of interest.

Tom’s series will continue next week.

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here and point #2 here.

3. Ombuds Assert Their Communications are Privileged

Ombuds routinely advise that nothing revealed by the visitor, including the visitor’s identity, will be disclosed voluntarily to anyone outside the office without the visitor’s consent. (The only exception to this guarantee of confidentiality is if there is a threat of imminent harm, aka the Tarasoff exception.) Ombuds further assert that communications with visitors are privileged and that it is the ombuds who holds the privilege. Read more »

            

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here.

2. The ABA Has Endorsed Ombuds
The fundamental ethical guidelines for ombuds are the International Ombudsman Association’s (IOA) Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. The first significant external commentary on ombuds practices came from the American Bar Association (ABA) in February 2004 when it issued “Standards for the Establishment and Operations of Ombuds Offices.” This marked the first time that another professional organization had examined and endorsed the role of ombuds. In response, IOA issued its own position paper in March 2006: “Guidance for Best Practices and Commentary on the American Bar Association Standards for the Establishment and Operation of Ombuds Offices.” The most significant difference between the IOA and ABA perspectives Read more »