Lawyers and neutrals have many skills that translate to part of the ADR spectrum that has often been ignored—facilitation. Many lawyers and neutrals are not familiar with how skills of a facilitator differ from those of a mediator. Often the adjective “facilitative” is used simply to distinguish between styles of mediation- evaluative, facilitative, or transformative. We suggest the need is great to develop in our law schools, bar associations, and ADR institutions: learning, training, and skills with respect to problem-solving. New York Times Columnist Bret Stephens’ words reflect the significance of why we feel facilitation needs to be embraced by the Bar, particularly at this moment in time: “To disagree well you must first understand well. You must read deeply, listen carefully, watch closely. You need to grant your adversary moral respect; give him the intellectual benefit of doubt; have sympathy for his motives and participate empathically with his line of reasoning. And you need to allow for the possibility that you might yet be persuaded of what he has to say.” Stephens, Brett, The Dying Art of Disagreement, New York Times (Sept. 24, 2017). We offer five recommendations to develop trainings, bar programs and rosters to enable the growth and development of a field that has never been more important in the turbulent issues that surround us in the public and private sectors:
(1) identifying and promoting the need and use of facilitators and how facilitators may be used not only when a crisis arises but also in a pre-dispute setting to avoid conflict;
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