I had a troubling mediation the other day. I knew something was amiss when I did not get any mediation briefs. Thus, I had no clue what the case was about, much less the issues. While submitting a brief helps me learn about the case, more importantly, it forces the [Read More]
The Harvard PONS blog posted (on August 27, 2025) a thought- provoking article by Katie Shonk entitled “Moral Leadership: Do Women Negotiate More Ethically than Men?” The answer is that generally, “yes”, “…women are generally less accepting of unethical behavior than men are and tend to behave more ethically than [Read More]
Assembly Bill 1755 (AB 1755) became law on September 29, 2024. It significantly amends California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (ACT), initially adopted in the 1970s. The Act is designed to provide motor vehicle owners with the remedy of restitution or replacement against automobile manufacturers when their vehicle proves to be [Read More]
One of the topics I cover in my mediation classes is the different styles or models of mediation, one of which is evaluative mediation. In the evaluative mediation model, the mediator aims to help the parties reach a resolution. To do this, she “… assumes that the participants want and [Read More]
It has long been said that men tend to be assertive and competitive in negotiations, while women tend to be more passive and cooperative. A recent study discussed in the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (PON) daily blog post debunks this stereotyping. In “Gender and Negotiations: New Research [Read More]
Recently, I took a survey about my mediation practices. Several of the questions concerned my use of AI before and during mediation. For example, do I use AI to conduct research about the issues in the case? Do I use AI to develop questions to ask during mediation? Do I [Read More]
Suppose you are a mediator and during the mediation, one party, either in a joint or separate session with you, threatens the other party with serious bodily harm or injury if they refuse to settle on the terms proposed. What do you do if anything? Do you ignore it? Keep quiet? [Read More]
You might consider this a strange question since the definition of “mediation” is “a process in which a neutral person or persons facilitate communication between the disputants to assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement” (California Evidence Code 1115(a)). Notice that the operable words are “neutral” and “facilitate.” These [Read More]
