I am very saddened by the news of Michael’s passing. He was a towering, global, creative, and energetic force for mediation, negotiation and problem solving. I first met Michael shortly after my arrival in Europe in 2001. He had invited a group of mediators and mediation provider organisations to meet at his offices in London. Michael was a natural convenor, with a beaming smile and a way of inviting you instantly into conversation. Michael always had this wonderful way of simultaneously praising you and challenging you to do better. I was impressed. Not so long after our first meeting, I met with Michael on behalf of the original sponsors of what was to become the International Mediation Institute (IMI). After receiving Michael’s cordial office welcome, I noticed a small model pyramid on his desk. It represented Michael’s vision for the future of mediation, and one side read “quality”. I started our conversation by saying that I might have something for one side of his pyramid. After listening to the concept and having heard my offer that he become IMI’s Executive Director, Michael unsurprisingly asked for a bit of time to consider both the concept and the offer. Michael called me soon after and said that he would be pleased to take on the position of IMI Executive Director with one condition, that he would only serve without compensation. I breathed easier and said that wouldn’t be a problem. From our earliest conversations concerning IMI, Michael pursued his vision of an organisation that would address the needs of mediation’s multiple stakeholder communities, most particularly mediators, mediation provider organisations and the vast community of mediation users. Michael’s ground-breaking success with mediation for corporate intellectual property matters had exposed Michael to two significant stakeholder groups, the corporate counsel community and mediation thought leaders globally. Both groups were to become important engines for IMI’s acceptance, economic sustenance and growth. A succession of leading corporate mediation leaders took on the role of IMI Chair, and mediation thought leaders churned out best practices in mediation quality and bold advances in new practice techniques and uses for mediation. Michael was an extraordinary negotiator, with years of success in cross-cultural dialogue and problem solving. If you were lucky, he would tell you about successfully negotiating a cross-cultural settlement where he had no currency except humility and the promise of a future beneficial relationship. Unsurprisingly, after leaving his Executive Director post, Michael continued to focus on innovation, particularly where negotiation and mediation meet. While the rest of us were focused on dispute resolution, Michael switched his attention to the use of mediation to create new business, “deal” mediation (Michael, ever the stickler for terminology, preferred the use of facilitation to mediation in that context). One of my last lengthy conversations with Michael (we used to meet irregularly over coffee in London’s Paddington Station) concerned the use of a mediator to assist strategic and succession planning in the context of family-owned businesses. His thoughts were, as ever, spot on. Michael Leathes was a gift to his friends, colleagues and the mediation profession. I am most thankful for having him with us.
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