It is often said that to resolve disputes, the respective needs and interests of each party must be met. Indeed, this is the thesis of Getting to Yes by Fisher and Ury, the seminal book on negotiation strategy and resolving conflicts. Although the parties did not set out to do [Read More]
Recently, I posted a blog on the timing of mediation, noting that sometimes a mediation occurs early in the life of a case and before all of the preparatory work has been done resulting in the parties realizing that more discovery is required to reach a compromise. I noted that [Read More]
On October 22, 2012, we said good-bye to Argus-our English springer spaniel-as the cancer got the best of him. I was devastated. Analogizing to employment litigation in which a terminated employee sues and is stuck in the past, dwelling on the old job and boss until she gets a new [Read More]
Argus Birth is a beginning and death a destination; But life is a journey. A going, a growing from stage to stage: From childhood to maturity and youth to old age. From innocence to awareness and ignorance to knowing; From foolishness to discretion and then perhaps, to wisdom. From weakness [Read More]
Last week, I conducted a mediation in which the Plaintiff was quite angry at what had happened to her. As I learned, she owns an auto body repair shop. Someone had brought a vehicle in for repair. However, that person abandoned the vehicle, never coming to pick it up. So, [Read More]
Often, in mediation, I suggest to a party that she look at the issue from the viewpoint of her adversary, i.e., the person sitting in the other room. I do this in an effort to have that party become more open in finding a solution to the dispute; to realize [Read More]
Two different blog posts on the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School's website suggests that mood and one's emotions play an important role in negotiations. If one negotiate while in a bad mood, chances are the negotiations will not turn out well. For this reason, we, intuitively, wait until [Read More]
Once again, The Economist reported on another quirky study. In an article entitled "Tall dark and stable" in the psychology section of its July 14, 2012 edition, the author discusses how "wobbly furniture leads to a desire for emotional stability." Evidently, previous studies have shown that if one is given [Read More]
