The Hummingbird

The other day, I opened one of the French doors in our house to let the dog outside where he proceeded to sun himself. Unbeknownst to me, a hummingbird took the open door as an invitation to come inside.  I did not realize it until an hour or  so later [Read More]

By |February 23rd, 2024|Conflict resolution|

The Sound of Silence!

The Sound of Silence is a song written by  and released in 1964  by Simon and Garfunkel. It was used  in the movie, The Graduate. Its lyrics include the phrases: “People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening.” It is the last phrase I want to dwell on: People hearing [Read More]

By |February 16th, 2024|Negotiation Strategy|

More Words that Matter!

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog on the importance of the words we use during a mediation or any negotiation. For example, rather than using labels “the other side” or “Plaintiff” or “defendant”, we should use the actual names of the people involved. As chance would have it, [Read More]

By |December 8th, 2023|Negotiation Strategy|

Us vs. Them or Is it We?

Recently, I attended the Annual Conference of the Southern California Mediation Association. One of the workshops intrigued me as it was all about the words we use. Entitled “Words Matter: What to leave at the Courthouse Steps” , the speakers Dr. Debra  Dupree and  Harold Coleman, Jr. Esq.  discussed how [Read More]

By |November 10th, 2023|Negotiation Strategy|

Never Mediate During a Heat Wave!

Every day we read and/or see news of how climate change has affected or is impacting our daily lives. Well- an article in Live Science suggests that heat may cause us to be more aggressive (if not sleepy!) In an article  published in early September 2023 entitled “Hot Weather could [Read More]

By |September 29th, 2023|Research|

Informed Consent

Once again, I am teaching mediation ethics to graduate students at the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California. Over the last couple of weeks, we have been focusing on “informed consent.”  Standard I  of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators  covers self-determination and mandates that [Read More]

By |September 22nd, 2023|Actual Mediations|

Mediation Ripeness

Many decades ago, when I was in law school, I learned about the “ripeness doctrine” in my Constitutional law course. Simply stated, this doctrine limits the power of a federal court to adjudicate cases that might otherwise fall within its jurisdiction. It concerns ““the timing of judicial intervention and prevents [Read More]

By |September 15th, 2023|Negotiating|
Go to Top