Recently, 60 Minutes presented a segment on Story Corps and, more particularly, on its program One Small Step, which is “… a national effort to help bridge divides during a contentious election year.” (Id.) To do so, the program brings people of diverse, if not opposite, backgrounds together to spend [Read More]
If you have paid the slightest attention to the news over the last few weeks, you have noticed that a heat wave is gripping most of the nation. Excessive heat warnings seem to be posted everywhere. Thus, a recent New York Times article entitled “How Heat Affects the Brain” by [Read More]
A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about proposed legislation- SB 940- allowing the State Bar of California to certify mediators or, more accurately, certify ADR provider organizations. See Certifying Mediators. The California Legislature is also considering another bill- SB 1141- that, if passed, could have a profound impact [Read More]
I opened the Science section of the New York Times last week to find an article about the value of mediation when siblings cannot agree on the next care steps for their elderly parents. Entitled “When Families Fight Over a Relative With Dementia, It’s Time to Call in the Mediator.,” [Read More]
On May 1, 2024, the Senate Judiciary Committee of the California legislature passed a heavily amended Senate Bill 940 aimed at regulating both arbitration and mediation services in California. According to a Los Angeles Daily Journal article published on May 2, 2024 (subscription only), the arbitration provisions may well run [Read More]
I stumbled upon a study entitled “Settlementality” by Jessica Bregant, Jennifer K. Robbennolt & Verity Winship which surveyed over 1,000 U. S. adults on their basic knowledge of settlements and what. If any, role the courts and contract law play in settlement. (Id. at 1.) Although their results were mixed [Read More]
Last weekend, I attended a conference of fellow mediators. One of the points raised was that mediating via Zoom, or any other video-conference platform requires a different skill set and for those new mediators (of less than three years) , it may be the only skill set they know. That [Read More]
This semester I am teaching an online Employment Dispute Mediation course at USC Gould School of Law. Using employment law as the substantive vehicle, I am teaching my students essentially how to be mediators from “soup to nuts.” In teaching them how to mediate, I note to my students repeatedly [Read More]
