The Slippery Slope of Negotiations!

Every so often, I glance at the blog posts on the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School website and one caught my eye. It is  entitled “Ethics in Negotiations: How to Deal with Deception at the Bargaining Table”  written by the PON staff and posted on June 11, 2019.  [Read More]

By |July 5th, 2019|News articles|

Starting With the Small Stuff

In my early training to be a mediator, the trainer often suggested that to help the parties reach an agreement on the really big issues, start with the small ones. Discuss the easy issues first and obtain agreement on those. This will build momentum and a sense that resolution is [Read More]

By |June 21st, 2019|News articles|

Overconfident: It is Always Better to Settle!

Several years ago, I read about a study which showed that lawyers tended to be overconfident in winning at trial.  The study (Insightful or Wishful: Lawyers’ Ability to Predict Case Outcomes by Jane Goodman-Delahunty, Maria Hartwig, Pär Anders Granhag and Elizabeth F. Loftus, published in 16 Psychology, Public Policy, and [Read More]

By |May 24th, 2019|News articles|

Should “Hostility” Be in my Toolbox?

The Cambridge online dictionary defines “mediator” as “…a  person who tries to end a disagreement by helping the two sides to talk about and agree on a solution.” Implied in this is that the mediator will be kind, helpful, friendly, respectful, and any other positive trait necessary to build trust and a relationship with the parties. The [Read More]

By |April 26th, 2019|News articles|

Will I Be Made Redundant?

A great fear of mine is that with the blossoming of artificial intelligence (AI), my skills as a mediator will be replaced by a robot. This fear crept into my conscious again upon reading an article posted by Nick Hilborne on February 19, 2019 entitled , “Robot Mediator settle first [Read More]

By |April 19th, 2019|News articles|

A New Tool in my Toolbox!

The  other day I stumbled upon a tweet mentioning a “velvet hammer”. Wondering what it was, I googled the reference and came upon an article discussing its meaning and use; Why the ‘velvet hammer’ is a better way to give constructive criticism by Stephanie Vozza. Taking issue with the what [Read More]

By |April 12th, 2019|News articles|
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