One thing I have learned about agreeing to teach a class is that it has caused me to focus on many things that have otherwise been floating around in my subconscious. One of these is negotiation tactics: what is permissible and what is not. In researching this topic for class, I came across a blog [...]
The semester has just started at USC Gould School of Law where I am teaching ADR Ethics. One of our recent classes focused on cognitive biases. After I pointed out that we all have them, and it is unavoidable, a student asked “What about judges?” Yes- they have them too, and unfortunately, most are not [...]
When you see an overweight person walking down the street, or perhaps sitting in a meeting with you, what is your reaction? Do you cringe or try to avoid that person? Do you have thoughts- good or bad- about that person’s physical appearance? Are you even aware of your reaction or are they so deep [...]
While I have known that silence can be a powerful tool in my mediation tool box, I never really thought about until I read a recent article posted on the BBC news website called “The subtle power of uncomfortable silences ” by Lennox Morrison (July 18,2017). (“Article”) The article examines what we all know innately; [...]
In 2005, the American Bar Association together with other organizations, adopted the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators. Standard 1 entitled “Self Determination” defines it as … the act of coming to a voluntary, uncoerced decision in which each party makes free and informed choices as to process and outcome. Parties may exercise self-determination at [...]
On June 22, 2017, the California Law Revision Commission issued its Tentative Recommendation following its study to create an exception to mediation confidentiality (Study K-402). All public comments should be received by the Commission no later than September 1, 2017. The CLRC just issued its Agenda for its September 28, 2017 meeting at the State [...]
The BBC News service posted an interesting article (July 25, 2017) entitled “Time, not material goods, ‘raises happiness’” by Helen Briggs. The article discusses a study in which individuals reported greater happiness when they paid others to do their chores. Dr. Elizabeth Dunn, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada conducted [...]
The other day, I received a telephone call from an attorney wondering if I could conduct a mediation on very short notice. It seems that the parties had a trial date in less than three weeks and wanted to make another attempt at settling the matter. They had already been to one full day of [...]