I came across an article on negotiation ethics that intrigued me because I am co-teaching ADR Ethics at USC Gould School of Law this semester. Typically, before I discuss the topic of mediation ethics with my students, I delve into the topic of “negotiation ethics” in general. The article, entitled “Negotiation Research Examines Ethics in [...]
Several weeks ago, I posted a blog about the enactment of Senate Bill 954 as Evidence Code section 1129. This new law effective January 1, 2019 requires counsel to obtain a written acknowledgement from their clients as soon as is reasonably possible after agreeing to mediation or to a mediation consultation that they understand the [...]
I just finished conducting a mediation (lemon law) which did not settle. And I think the prime reason was that there were too many different attorneys handling the matter. Although in the same firm, they apparently were not communicating with each other or the representative of the client handling the mediation. Plaintiff purchased a vehicle [...]
I stumbled upon an article in mediate.com discussing an empirical study conducted in the Singapore Courts about their use of mediation. The actual article, (How Should the Courts Know Whether a Dispute is Ready and Suitable for Mediation? An Empirical Analysis of the Singapore Courts’ Referral of Civil Disputes to Mediation.) appearing in the Spring [...]
Attending a mediation requires making difficult decisions. It also requires weighing options. Do we settle? Not settle? Under what conditions? Should we hold out for more favorable terms? Or settle now? And so on. Well… The New York Times published an article in its Sunday Review Section on September 1, 2018 that may help answer [...]
On September 11, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 954 which (when it takes effect on January 1, 2019) will require attorneys to inform their clients of the confidentiality restrictions related to mediation and to obtain their clients’ written acknowledgment that this disclosure has been made to them and that they understand it. While this [...]
The other weekend, my husband and I were visiting some friends (husband and wife) whom we had not seen in a while. As we were leaving, the wife and I were avidly talking with each other, seemingly interrupting each other, or at least, not letting the other finish a sentence. My husband, overhearing our “conversation”, [...]
Senator John McCain died last Saturday- August 25, 2018. And since then, tributes and remembrances have been pouring in from all over the world. Except for one person: The President of the United States. On Saturday, in a very terse tweet, he sent his condolences and sympathies to Senator McCain’s family, not focusing on the [...]