CPN Mediation & Third-Party Facilitation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An evaluative mediator primarily assists parties by:
- Focusing solely on restoring the relationship between the parties
- Providing assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of each party's legal position (Correct answer)
- Refusing to offer any opinion so as not to influence outcomes
- Acting as a binding decision-maker when parties disagree
Correct answer: Providing assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of each party's legal position
Evaluative mediators offer candid assessments of likely litigation outcomes to help parties make informed settlement decisions.
Question 2: The 'ripeness' doctrine in third-party facilitation suggests that mediation is most effective when:
- Both parties have already agreed on all major terms
- The conflict has reached a hurting stalemate and both sides perceive negotiation as preferable to continued conflict (Correct answer)
- A court has ordered mediation over the parties' objections
- The mediator has extensive subject-matter expertise in the dispute topic
Correct answer: The conflict has reached a hurting stalemate and both sides perceive negotiation as preferable to continued conflict
Ripeness theory holds that parties must feel enough pain from the conflict to be motivated to seek a negotiated solution.
Question 3: Which ethical obligation requires a mediator to avoid situations where personal relationships or financial interests could compromise impartiality?
- Duty of confidentiality
- Duty of disclosure and conflict of interest avoidance (Correct answer)
- Duty to evaluate legal merits
- Duty to achieve settlement
Correct answer: Duty of disclosure and conflict of interest avoidance
Mediators must disclose any relationships or interests that could impair neutrality and withdraw if a conflict cannot be waived.
Question 4: In a multi-party mediation involving six stakeholders, the facilitator's MOST critical structural challenge is:
- Ensuring each party hires separate legal counsel
- Managing coalition formation and preventing dominant voices from silencing minority interests (Correct answer)
- Limiting the session to no more than two hours per day
- Requiring all parties to submit written position statements beforehand
Correct answer: Managing coalition formation and preventing dominant voices from silencing minority interests
With many parties, alliances form naturally and smaller stakeholders can be marginalized, which the facilitator must actively counteract.
Question 5: Which of the following is a key feature of interest-based facilitation as opposed to positional bargaining facilitation?
- The facilitator enforces a predetermined framework of acceptable solutions
- The facilitator helps parties articulate underlying needs rather than defending stated demands (Correct answer)
- The facilitator calculates a mathematically fair compromise between opening offers
- The facilitator focuses exclusively on monetary compensation
Correct answer: The facilitator helps parties articulate underlying needs rather than defending stated demands
Interest-based facilitation uncovers motivations beneath positions, enabling creative solutions that positional bargaining cannot reach.
Question 6: A mediator who drafts the final settlement agreement for parties to sign should be aware that:
- Drafting creates no ethical concerns since the mediator is already neutral
- This practice can raise unauthorized practice of law concerns and should be approached cautiously (Correct answer)
- Settlement agreements drafted by mediators are automatically enforceable in all US states
- The mediator's draft supersedes any attorney-reviewed version
Correct answer: This practice can raise unauthorized practice of law concerns and should be approached cautiously
Mediators who draft legally binding documents may cross into the practice of law, requiring care about scope and jurisdiction.
Question 7: In the context of labor-management mediation, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) typically intervenes:
- Only after a strike has lasted more than 60 days
- When notified of a dispute in advance of contract expiration under the NLRA's notice requirements (Correct answer)
- Exclusively in public-sector disputes involving federal employees
- Only when both parties jointly petition the FMCS
Correct answer: When notified of a dispute in advance of contract expiration under the NLRA's notice requirements
Under the NLRA, parties must notify the FMCS 30 days before a contract expires, triggering potential mediation assistance.
CPN Mediation & Third-Party Facilitation 3
An evaluative mediator primarily assists parties by: