A recent mediation involved restoring a vehicle. The plaintiff alleged she was overcharged, which the defendants disputed. To resolve the litigation, the plaintiff wanted a substantial portion of her money refunded. After a few hours of negotiating different installment payment plans, and frankly, when I thought we were at the [Read More]
In teaching mediation, I discuss the notion that mediation is a process of change, and like all changes, it takes time. It is often a slow process because it entails transformation. The mediation session is a transformation: it transforms one’s thinking. A party will walk into the session thinking one [Read More]
One of the areas we cover in my online Employment Dispute Mediation Class is what is mediable or negotiable and what is not. For example, disputed issues of fact and law are not negotiable because they will be decided by a trier of fact, be it a judge or jury. [Read More]
Most people attend mediation, fully engaged and committed to the process, hoping to resolve a matter. However, there are some who attend mediation with no real desire to settle, despite their outward claims. I had such a mediation the other day. It was court-ordered on the eve of trial. The [Read More]
I am in a quandary. Whenever I have a mediation that does not settle at mediation, I follow up. But the question arises: what is the best way? Should I do it by telephone? E-mail? Text? Some of the above? All of the above? This quandary came to mind in [Read More]
The Economist magazine has a feature called “Bartley,” which discusses business management. A recent article entitled “Why We Need to Laugh at Work” discusses the importance of humor in the workplace. Among other things, the article points out the obvious: “… a sense of humour is, by and large, a [Read More]
A good friend emailed me the other day asking if I had written anything recently on mediation confidentiality. I decided to call her in response, wondering if I had missed any news. It turned out that she had a student who questioned the value and effectiveness of confidentiality in mediation. [Read More]
As mentioned, I teach an online course at USC’s Gould School of Law, which is couched in employment law and teaches how to mediate from soup to nuts. The book we use advocates the use of joint sessions. But I always tell my students that, for some reason, in California, [Read More]
