The Space Between Appointments

Achieving excellence in dispute resolution is not only about what happens during an appointment, but also about what happens in the spaces between. AMINZ Executive Director Monique Pearson considers the value of safeguarding that space for your craft, and how can you protect it. 

The work we do is demanding. It requires focus, neutrality and the ability to hold complex issues, and the people behind them, with equal care. 

But the quality of that work isn’t only shaped when you’re with the parties. It’s also shaped in the space between appointments. 

Those spaces are where you prepare, reset and create the conditions for your best judgment. They’re where you finish one matter and make yourself ready for the next – mentally, emotionally and practically. 

When those spaces are protected, the work benefits. When they are crowded out by back-to-back commitments, shifting timetables or unfinished business from the last matter, standards start to fray. 

Why this Matters

We are in a profession where judgment is your currency. Your reputation is built, and rebuilt, with every appointment you take on. 

Guarding the space between appointments isn’t about slowing down for its own sake. It’s about: 

• Giving yourself the clarity to make sound, defensible decisions. 

• Protecting the standards you’ve set for your own work. 

• Sustaining the energy and focus you need to keep doing this for years to come. 

In short: it’s a professional asset. It keeps you sharp. It helps you avoid the small errors or oversights that can chip away at trust. It ensures that, when you are in front of the parties, they get the best version of you – not what’s left over. 

Reflection for Practice

From time to time, it’s worth asking: 

• Where in my practice is there genuine space to think? 

• What have I been tolerating that quietly drains my capacity? 

• If I had one extra hour before every appointment, how would I use it? 

• What single boundary could I set this month to protect that space? 

These aren’t operational questions. They’re questions about protecting the craft we’ve spent years building. 

The Golden Thread

Excellence in dispute resolution is not only about what happens during an appointment. It is sustained by the way we protect the conditions that allow us to deliver that excellence – consistently, appointment after appointment. 

Protecting the space between is not indulgence. It’s part of the work. It safeguards judgments. It strengthens integrity. And it shows respect – for the parties, the process and ourselves. 

A Principle to Carry Forward 

The truth is that we are not only measured by outcomes. We are measured by the consistency, clarity and steadiness we bring, appointment after appointment. 

Protecting the space between is not about stepping back. It’s about stepping in with the judgment, patience and presence that define excellence in dispute resolution. 

Because, in the end, it’s not just what happens during the appointment that matters. 

It’s the preparation. The resetting. The readiness. 

That’s where trust is built. 

That’s where reputations endure.