This is our final mediation column for the New York Law Journal. When we first pitched an editor the idea for this regular feature back in the spring of 2007, the concept was new, and we were met with a measure of skepticism. "Just don't write about international arbitration," she said. We assured her we knew nothing of that subject area. For so many years, mediation and arbitration had blended in the public's perception of alternative dispute resolution. As wellness culture has blossomed, we have encountered countless others who confused mediation with meditation. And now, here we find ourselves, nearly 15 years into this column, and there has indeed been a sea change (one we've watched, welcomed and participated in): presumptive ADR in nearly every court in New York state.

Reflecting back over columns, we have discussed key skills that practitioners employ in this process, as well as a variety of applications in legal practice and theory. As Adjunct Professors of Mediation Theory and Skills, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, we have counseled our students that they are unlikely to become full time mediators. Rather, we have demonstrated for them the breadth of applications of these skills across legal practice. And now, it seems, many attorneys throughout New York state are indeed finding themselves in the mediation room, and even in the mediator's chair. Regardless of whether you use these skills in conducting a mediation or as an attorney directing aspects of various communications, we leave you in our valedictory column with insights from the front lines: