Blog | Michael Lomax

Mediating High Conflict Disputes Workshop

On July 24, 2015, I attended a one-day workshop on proposal-focused mediation, at the home of Michael and Tammy Lomax in Cobble Hill, B.C. It was the idyllic venue for a one-day workshop. Michael is a prominent mediator, mentor, collaborative practitioner and trainer who teaches the methods of high conflict training, created by Bill Eddy. Michael clearly demonstrated that he has the training chops to deliver an effective method in a one-day format. I have had the rare privilege of visiting the same village in Tuscany 2-3 times a year over 10 years when I lived in Austria, and surprisingly, Michael and Tammy’s back yard comes the closest to our favorite trattoria with its “loggia” that I have experienced so far. [...]

Dealing with High Conflict People

High Conflict People (HCP) are not just difficult people, they are the most difficult people. Perhaps you have a co-worker, a relative or a client who is very challenging to deal with and always seems to get into conflict with other people. They get angry over small issues which they never think are their fault, and if someone tries to help, the High Conflict Person (also HCP) still doesn’t seem to be able to stop, or gets angry at that person as well. They will very often complain about an issue or a person as being the cause of their problems, but the reality is that, for HCPs, it is their personality that is the issue. Despite how challenging HCPs [...]