by Dan van der Burg | Mar 24, 2026
The Document as the Spine of PersuasionChapter 11 of Litigation and Administrative Advocacy: The Art and Science of Persuasion[1] by Justice Todd Archibald and Bryan Birtles, titled “The Persuasive Value of Documentary Evidence in an Ever Evolving Digital Time”,...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 22, 2026
The Conversation We’re All Starting to HearIt’s becoming harder to ignore.Everywhere I turn, there is talk about artificial intelligence, how it will reshape professions, replace functions, and fundamentally change how work gets done. The legal world is not immune to...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 19, 2026
Where This Issue Actually SurfacesIn my practice as a mediator, this issue rarely appears at the outset of a case. It was front and center in one of our recent mediations.It does not usually feature prominently in pleadings, and it is often only briefly touched upon...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 18, 2026
There is a moment that experienced mediators recognize immediately.It happens early, sometimes very early. You leave one caucus room, step into the other, and before you have even had a chance to relay a single message, counsel looks up and asks, sometimes pointedly,...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 17, 2026
A View from the MiddleAfter years of mediating personal injury, insurance, and commercial disputes, estate files stand apart. The legal issues are often narrower. The damages are sometimes easier to quantify. And yet, they are consistently more difficult to...
