Using Chatbots to Negotiate!

The blog post on the Harvard Program on Negotiation(PONS) raised an interesting and timely issue: using chatbots to assist in negotiations. In her post, “Chatbot Negotiations: What can AI Do for You?” author Katie Shonk (August 8, 2024) relays the story of Walmart’s use of a chatbot to negotiate with [Read More]

By |August 23rd, 2024|Negotiation|

Redux– Do Not Mediate in the Heat!

Last week, the news was full of a study about the effects of excessive heat on young children (coinciding with the start of school, no doubt), noting that it hits them hard. An article from the Harvard Graduate School of Education entitled "Excessive Heat Hits Young Children Hard” by Elizabeth [Read More]

By |August 16th, 2024|Research|

Contact Theory

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]

Do Not Mediate in the Heat!

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]

SCMA Townhall

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]

Mediation Comes To The Rescue!

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]

By |May 17th, 2024|Mediation|

Certifying Mediators??

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]

By |May 3rd, 2024|Legislature|
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