Master of Laws · More than 16 years in dispute resolution
Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators
Melbourne, Australia
About the interviewer
Sam Lawson
Sam Lawson is an Australian dispute resolution practitioner and the interviewer behind Judgment in the Room.
He has worked in dispute resolution for more than 16 years across mediation, conciliation, arbitration and related forms of ADR, including statutory dispute-resolution environments. His work has included practitioner, leadership and professional-development roles.
Sam holds a Master of Laws from the Australian National University and qualifications in legal practice and arbitration.
His professional affiliations and accreditations include:
- Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators
- Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Professional Member, Resolution Institute
- Nationally Accredited Mediator
- Accredited Conciliator
- Grade 3 Arbitrator
- Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner
He has taught and lectured on ADR at tertiary level, judged mediation competitions and mentored conciliators through Resolution Institute.
Why this project
Knowledge that is difficult to capture in formal training
Over the course of his own work in dispute resolution, Sam became increasingly interested in something that is difficult to capture in formal training: the judgment experienced practitioners develop through years of dealing with real people, real conflict and difficult decisions.
Much of that knowledge is shared informally between colleagues, mentors and professional networks. Some of it is never recorded at all.
Judgment in the Room is an attempt to ask experienced practitioners directly about that judgment: what they notice, how they think, where they disagree, what they have changed their minds about, what they have learned from mistakes, and what they believe the next generation should understand.
Sam is based in Melbourne, Australia.