While I do not conduct family law mediations, I read an article in the April 19, 2014 edition of The Economist which I cannot resist mentioning. Entitled "Hunger Strikes", it discusses a study led by Brad Bushman of Ohio State University recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy [Read More]
One of the hardest obstacles to settling a dispute is overcoming a party's sincere belief that she is above average and therefore is right and the other person is wrong. Known as the "Lake Wobegon "effect, Wikipedia explains:The Lake Wobegon effect, a natural human tendency to overestimate one's capabilities, is [Read More]
In 2000, when I took my first mediation training class, my teacher discussed the five stages of loss and grief first proposed by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. The particular training course I was attending focused on divorce mediations and so the stages were relevant [Read More]
In 2006, the American Bar Association issued an ethical opinion- ABA Formal Ethics Op. 06-439 entitled A Lawyer's Obligation of Truthfulness When Representing a Client in Negotiation: Application to Caucused Negotiation. At issue was whether an attorney has to be as truthful in a caucused mediation as she is obliged [Read More]
My dog Cookie loves to play catch (or more aptly, I throw the ball and she chases it!). Shortly after we got her, one of my neighbors told us that on one side of the Mormon Church (2 blocks away) was a great grassy side yard, more or less fenced [Read More]
Last week, I posted a blog about the difference between "hearing" and "listening" and how the latter is intimately connected to "active listening".Well, it appears that while hearing and listening helps in everyday life, our senses of seeing and touching are more important! A new study reveals that our brain [Read More]
Introduction Several months ago, Joan Kessler asked that I provide an article to be included in the ADR issue of The Advocate. Since then, I have pondered on what I should write about. For inspiration, I went to my weekly blog which I have been posting since August 31, 2006. [Read More]
It Helps to Listen!A few weeks ago, a colleague Esther C. Bleuel posted an article about hearing and listening, noting that the only thing these two concepts have in common is our two ears. As we know, "hearing" is not the same as "listening." To quote Ms. Bleuel, "...the purpose [Read More]
