Speaking in Tongues: A Mediator Builds Rapport in 4 Languages
The importance of building trust and rapport cannot be understated in a mediation. Many mediators do what it takes to break the ice; some begin with a tea break, others use special schedules.
In this case, a fully online mediation administered by SIMC, Specialist Mediator William Ong switched effectively between English, Mandarin, Hokkien and some Teochew to warm frigid relations between parties. Although challenging, speaking a language that parties were comfortable with worked to the benefit of the case. As parties powered through, they reached consensus at 8pm with the settlement agreement inked an hour later the same day.
Reflecting on Asia’s dispute resolution scene today, William suggests that mediation is inherent in the Asia’s consciousness: “We talk about yi he wei gui (以和为贵). And in the Chinese consciousness, they always are open to try to resolve a dispute before they go to the full war, whether it is court or arbitration. And increasingly in our practice, we’ll find that clients do ask about whether there are ways to reach out to the other side to try to resolve the dispute before or in the midst of an arbitration or litigation.”
“The Chinese, for example, have a long history of trying to resolve disputes in their culture. We talk about yi he wei gui(以和为贵). And in the Chinese consciousness, they always are open to try to resolve a dispute before they go to the full war.”
William Ong, Partner & Co-head of Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Allen & Gledhill
We thank William for sharing his time with us. Gam xia!
Catch up on the interview here or read the full transcript below:
WO: I‘m William, I practise at Allen & Gledhill and I have been doing so since 2000. I do international arbitration and litigation. And of course, I’m happy to add mediation to that list now. First and foremost, mediation is definitely useful for the practice that I’m engaged in, I mean, all around the world, you see that mediation is increasingly being adopted as a means of dispute resolution.
Q: Can you share with us a case you mediated with SIMC?
WO: Okay, my recent mediation where I acted as mediator with SIMC. That was an interesting one, it was a fully online mediation. And the parties were not conversant in English. Instead, they were conversant in Mandarin Chinese, as well as Hokkien or Teochew. So we had to face the parties on the computer screen. And they were in their respective law firms, and try to understand the issues. And obviously, we had to try to build rapport and trust with the parties.
So in order to connect with the parties, I had to call upon the reserves of what I learned from my late grandmother, in terms of speaking Hokkien with her and try my best to connect with the parties. I basically said to one of them this in Hokkien … <Hokkien> Which means that, “Today, we are here to try to resolve this problem. And it would be wonderful if at the end of the day, it can be settled.”
There was certainly a point where patience was tested to the extreme. They could not agree on a point on a particular specific point. And and one has to learn not to be judgmental on the value of the point. But to try to get the parties to look at that point again and see whether or not they can be nudged across the line and overcome that point. And that issue or that problem cropped up at about 6 or 7pm that evening, and we managed to resolve it at about 8pm, and the settlement agreement was then left to the lawyers, and it was inked an hour later.
Q: How do you feel about the settlement?
WO: I think that whether as advocate or as mediator, at the end of the mediation process, after the clients ink the settlement agreement, you generally are we generally are happy for the clients, that they have managed to avoid the uncertainty, the time and the expense of a long-drawn dispute settlement process, whether you are talking about litigation or arbitration.
Q: What are some trends you foresee in Asia’s dispute resolution scene?
WO: Well, I think mediation is certainly useful in practice, whether it is the China practice, or it is a practice involving other areas. I think mediation across the world is gradually being institutionalised. The Chinese, for example, have a long history of trying to resolve disputes in their culture. We talk about yi he wei gui (以和为贵). And in the Chinese consciousness, they always are open to try to resolve a dispute before they go to the full war, whether it is court or arbitration. And increasingly in our practice, we’ll find that clients do ask about whether there are ways to reach out to the other side to try to resolve the dispute before or in the midst of an arbitration or litigation. And I think the advocate or the counsel involved has to be ready to advise and participate in the mediation.
When we advise clients, whether or not it is on the cusp of setting a dispute or in the middle of a dispute, mediation will always come into the picture. And we have to explore with the clients as to whether or not it is something that we want to bring up with the other side and try to see whether or not the problem can be resolved, there then.