WDR Delaware Corporation v Hydrox Holdings Pty Ltd  Background WDR, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lowes, a US-based home improvement company, entered into a joint venture agreement with Woolworths, an Australian-based retail company, to open hardware and home improvement stores in Australia and New Zealand. The joint venture agreement spawned Hydrox Holdings Pty Ltd, a registered Australian company. Woolworths owned two thirds of the shares in Hydrox and Lowes (through WDR) owned the other third. Hydrox has always operated at [...]

It sounds miraculous. Using the scent of lavender or lemon and serving hot drinks to parties can help them solve problems more creatively and act more reasonably. Some legal commentators claim the integration of mediation and neuroscience will revolutionise the process of settling cases. But is this touting of neuroscience research just the latest fad in the field, the phrenology of the 21st century? What does it add to practice of mediation? Read Full Article HERE  Jean Di Marino was [...]

Why mediators should use BATNAs carefully  The concept of Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement, or BATNA, is immensely useful in meditation. A coined termed by Roger Fisher and William Ury in the widely publicised book ‘Getting to Yes’, BATNA is the most advantageous alternative course of action that a party can take if negotiations fail to reach an agreement. Mediators often ask BATNAs to better gauge each parties’ zone of agreement. This term is widely adopted and used by [...]

The Australian Disputes Centre is exposed to a wide range of conflicts. Although largely associated with the legal process, Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) deals closely with the commercial sphere both as an external avenue for conflict resolution, and as an internal approach to negotiations. As a third year commerce student, I seek to approach ADR from a commercial perspective/background and can thus apply my learning here to my university work. Through my internship at the Centre I have gained valuable [...]

At a first glance, the mediation process appeared to a third year law student as an informal and unstructured “quick-fix” to reach a compromise in legal disputes where the rigidity of the court procedure is unable to provide a tangible (or affordable resolution). However, a day of role-playing and brainstorming around the alternative avenues of resolving conflict offered by the mediation process swiftly dissolved this simplistic interpretation. Instead, as a student half-way through her law degree at UNSW, I was [...]

Guests at the ADR Benefit Ball celebrated the contribution of Sir Laurence Street to the development of ADR in Australia and the Asia-Pacific. As the Hon. Justice Terry Sheahan noted by video on the evening, Sir Laurence was instrumental in establishing ADC (formally the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre) as the first independent ADR organisation in Australia and we proudly honored his contribution with a special music tribute.    

It was my pleasure in May 2014 to participate in the launch of the ADC’s ATSI scholarship program and to have been invited to recommend Aboriginal people from with the Aboriginal Land Council network in NSW to participate in the program. To date eight Aboriginal Land Council representatives have undertaken or are undertaking mediation training with the ADC through the ATSI scholarship program. All those who have participated have expressed the revelation, common to all who engage with the power of mediation and other forms [...]

International law firms, arbitrators and guests from across London city and the globe stepped out in masked style on 8 September 2016 for the bi-annual International Arbitration Charity Ball. A major event on the City’s legal calendar, the Ball has become an important fund-raiser for Save the Children and a must-be-there networking event for the international arbitration community.  

China is Australia's largest trading partner, buying AUD$90 billion of Australian exports in 2014-15. Given the significance of the Chinese market and the increase in China-Australia transactions, it is essential to be aware of ways to mitigate risk in your China-related transactions and more importantly, what to do in the event of a dispute. Edwina Kwan, Senior Associate, King & Wood Mallesons, offers valuable insights from her seven years spent on the ground as a commercial disputes lawyer in China. [...]

In conjunction with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) and law firm King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), ADC recently hosted an ADR seminar for Chinese connected companies and lawyers. This is the first seminar presented to the Chinese business community relating to alternative dispute resolution. Increased trade between Australia and China not only provides greater opportunities to both countries, increased trade necessarily means creates more disputes across borders. [...]