In this issue of the JCR we focus on the cutting-edge topic of mediation, a subject near and dear to me. Having been a mediator and teacher of mediation, I am glad for this opportunity to share my thoughts on this important topic and what it means to the professionals of TMA.

Mediation speaks to many things but most of all to what it means to find a pathway to compromise. As restructuring professionals, this is something we often try to do but sometimes cannot bring all the pieces of a settlement together to succeed.

That said, there is a great deal to learn from this issue on mediation. For the attorneys, like myself, who are skilled in this art and participate in it regularly, it is a critical part of many complex restructuring cases. For those less engaged, it is an opportunity to create a greater understanding not just about what mediation means, but what it takes to get to a negotiated settlement and what that generally can mean to clients.

At out virtual 2021 Distressed Investment Conference, one of our most well-attended interactive sessions featured Elayne Greenberg, assistant dean for Dispute Resolution at St. John’s University School of Law and a skilled international mediator. I was trained by Elayne and had the privilege to teach under her. During her session, she talked not just about mediation but about the skills brought forward in this setting, which focus on negotiation skills generally. And there are many.

The professionals of TMA, many of whom are practical problem solvers, learned a great deal about how to make better deals in negotiation settings by actively listening, understanding the underlying interests that often eclipse the business issues at stake, and managing and accepting the need for parties to vent.

Like all that we do at TMA, we brought a practical light to a nuanced yet critically important practice area and skill. This brought a new appreciation of how to approach a settlement environment to our diverse professional demographics.

If there was ever a time to reflect on that experience and what we offer in this edition of the JCR, it is now. The geopolitical climate, being as uncertain as it is, will likely spawn a tense and difficult economic landscape for the balance of this year and well into the next.

With stimulus money gone and issues of monetary mismanagement, fraud, and general sector volatility starting to bubble to the surface, there is no better time to gain heightened awareness around how alternative dispute resolution may be the best practice for our professionals.

From attorneys to financial advisors, this edition of the JCR may be one of the most important of the year. It is hyperfocused on an often underutilized but highly impactful tool that is at our professionals’ disposal.

The balance of this year looks to be a minefield of issues to navigate. The war in Europe, inflation, rising interest rates, uncertainty around oil prices, and a tight job market will throw our professionals lots of curveballs and, even for the most seasoned, new and unusual challenges.

At the center of it all is how to navigate uncertainty, manage up to a better result, and keep suffering companies on a restorative track. Mediation, negotiation, and how to integrate them into your solution arsenal is what we share here this month.

At TMA we share the practical, impart knowledge to support thought leadership, and offer tools that make us all better practitioners and problem solvers. This JCR edition does just that and more. So, grab this opportunity and take away the practical advice these authors share, as only TMA thought leadership can do.

Scott Y. Stuart, Esq.
TMA Global CEO
sstuart@turnaround.org
@TMA_CEO