Should You Hire a Particular Mediator? Last fall, the California legislature enacted Assembly Bill 1755, which put a rocket under lemon law cases. One significant change is that it requires every lemon law case filed in state court to be mediated within 150 days of the filing of a responsive [Read More]
It seems that everywhere one looks, there is an implicit bias lurking behind the scenes. While recently, it was the birthday paradox, this week it is the implicit bias we have regarding status. In an article in the Science and Technology section of The Economist (September 14, 2022) entitled, An [Read More]
Recently, I received an email from Darren Lee, Executive Director of The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) with the results of a survey (NADN-2022-SurveyOfLitigators-ViewsOnODR[64656] ) of litigators on virtual mediation. The survey compared responses received in September 2020 with those received in September 2022. Both surveys were sent to [Read More]
As part of my preparation to teach a class on mediation confidentiality, I reviewed the Uniform Mediation Act with all of its comments (UMA). In doing so, it struck me that although mediation is extremely popular and common place, it would be good to remind ourselves why we should mediate [Read More]
I will never understand why people go to mediation (and pay lots of money to a mediator) when they are not prepared to settle. I had another one of those mediations recently that went nowhere even before it started. I knew something was amiss when I did not receive any [Read More]
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]
A few weeks ago, some rulings of the Honorable Holly E. Kendig, Judge of Los Angeles County Superior Court, made the headlines in the local legal newspapers. Those rulings which among other things dismissed the case, were predicated on an earlier ruling which answered the question, “who is a mediator” and discussed [Read More]
A recent study found that even chimpanzees use conflict resolution in the form of policing (i.e., arbitration/mediation) to resolve their disputes and/or to prevent them in the first place. Further, like humans, they look to those with status or high rank, to resolve the erupting conflict. Perusing Google news, I [Read More]
