No doubt, you have encountered the situation where you are addressing a group of people and ask a question and are met with silence… absolute quiet! It feels awkward… no one is answering your question.(Indeed, Anglophones can not tolerate more than four seconds of silence while the Japanese can tolerate [Read More]
Let us suppose a hypothetical: you are given notice of the date and time of a court ordered mediation but choose not to attend. Those who do attend reach an agreement and sign a settlement agreement. Is that agreement binding on you although you did not attend the mediation? While [Read More]
Teaching mediation ethics has its good points and bad points. The good is that I have been required to learn the subject matter in depth; the bad is that oftentimes in an actual mediation I am cognizant (or more so) of ethical issues which may escape the (full?) attention of [Read More]
Well, it happened again; another mediation in which one side was not prepared. And… as you might surmise, the mediation did not last long. (This is a topic I have often addressed in my blogs.) It involved a used automobile. The plaintiff claimed that the used car dealer breached both [Read More]
That is what my husband said to me a few weeks ago. Needless to say, working from home and in close quarters with hubby for more than three months and continuing does have its moments. So- on one of those days, I was grumpy. My response to him was simple, [Read More]
Several weeks ago, The New York Times published an article about one of my favorite topics: Active Listening. Entitled “Practice Better Listening” by Kate Murphy,(Sunday, May 17, 2020, At Home section) the author notes that with life moving at a much slower pace these days, we have the opportunity and [Read More]
One of the most important aspects if not THE most important aspect about mediations is that they are confidential. What is said by the parties and/or mediator during a mediation stays there. This is absolutely necessary to encourage forthright disclosure, build trust and rapport among the parties, trust in the [Read More]
We are all facing a “new normal.” Most of us- over 75%- are working remotely from home trying to adapt very quickly and competently to this “new normal”. We are attempting to keep the same sense of structure and processes that we used in an office setting without much luck. [Read More]
