Lawyer Monthly - August 2022

and the issues they care about, they will not be ready or prepared to move on and look at solutions. Also, in the later stages of the mediation, disclosure of feelings can dramatically deepen shared ground and sometimes supply testimony to the common experience of the conflict. Not only can this help people understand the other or understand the impact that their behaviour has had upon them, but the linking of emotions to future solutions can also powerfully inform and support the participants in working out just what it could be like to enjoy a brighter and happier future. Finally, the whole mediation experience can be cemented by sharing typically difficult emotions that participants deal with during this unique experience. Sometimes this can mark a watershed moment in their relationship and is often a turning point in the mediation itself. This is especially true for workplace, corporate and family business mediations where the parties need to continue to work together afterwards. What types of cases do you enjoy most? I actually enjoy most if not all of my cases; whether large and small, I like having both on my docket. Sometimes the most gratifying conflicts for me are the ones where it only takes a couple of hours to resolve the issues between the parties. That being said, complex and technical multi-day mediations, while all-consuming, leave me with the greatest sense of accomplishment when resolved. I find cases involving the technology, resource and energy sectors quite interesting – as well as mediating any business dispute, really. Currently, I am quite enjoying workplace mediations as well as conflicts between either businesses, managers within the same business, or workplace teams that want to preserve and improve their working relationships. What does the future of your mediation practice hold? Having recently relocated my home to Victoria from Vancouver last year, I would like to continue to grow my Victoria/Vancouver Island practice so it becomes at least 50% of my client base, with the rest of my clients mostly in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. I have been leading a complex workplace harassment investigation for a local municipal government and have been really enjoying the work. I am actively pursuing more of that kind of work, workplace mediations and investigations, with local governments, police and healthcare institutions and medium to large businesses. I am also helping a few organisations with team dynamics and setting up systems to resolve conflict or potential conflicts early, which I quite enjoy. Marco Francesco Abruzzi-Lilliu Marco is an award-winning Harvard-trained mediator focused on resolving business, corporate, workplace and indigenous disputes. Prior to specialising in alternative dispute resolution, Marco worked in a boutique Vancouver firm as a litigation lawyer for 11 years and for the Department of Justice Canada as Crown Counsel and Federal Prosecutor within the business & regulatory, aboriginal litigation, public prosecutions, and national security & defence sections. He is also a graduate of the prestigious Harvard Program on Negotiation and Leadership (2020). Accordance Dispute Resolution LLP Accordance is a premiere dispute resolution firm based in Victoria and Vancouver, with clients across British Columbia, Canada. They focus extensively on mediation, negotiation facilitation, conflict consulting and workplace investigations/ assessments. They are a proud Industry Partner of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of British Columbia & Yukon. WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | AUG 2022 58 THOUGHT LEADER - MARCO FRANCESCO ABRUZZI-LILLIU

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