In my final blog of the last four Decembers, I have reflected on the previous 525,600 minutes aka the year. Another 525,600 minutes have elapsed, and it appears that we are finally through with the pandemic. However, we are not through with Covid-19 (Or should I say that Covid -19 [Read More]
One of the most essential principles of mediation (if not THE most) is self-determination which “…is the act of coming to a voluntary, uncoerced decision in which each party makes free and informed choices as to process and outcome.” (Standard I, Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators.) Rule 1.01(e) of [Read More]
The Harvard PONS blog posted (on December 3, 2024) a thought- provoking article by Katie Shonk entitled “Moral Leadership: Do Women Negotiate More Ethically than Men?” The answer is that generally, “yes”, “…women are generally less accepting of unethical behavior than men are and tend to behave more ethically than [Read More]
Once again, Thanksgiving is upon us. Last year- 2023- I posted the blog below which I believe is as relevant today as it was last year. So, I would like to share it again. And.... again I want to thank each of you for such a great year. I deeply [Read More]
Most people attend mediation, fully engaged and committed to the process, hoping to resolve a matter. However, there are some who attend mediation with no real desire to settle, despite their outward claims. I had such a mediation the other day. It was court-ordered on the eve of trial. The [Read More]
The Presidential election reminded me of mediation: in both, one can not rush the process. Any attempts to do result in failure. Approximately, 107 days ago, President Biden withdrew as the democratic nominee and suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris take his place. She had 107 days to convince the [Read More]
Imagine you are having coffee with a friend in a coffee shop. You are sitting across from each other for about ten minutes. Where is your phone? On the table? In your hand? Out of sight? An interesting study discussed in a blog post on the Harvard Program on Negotiation [Read More]
Several weeks ago, I noted that I had just finished reading a book for our book club—The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind by Jonah Berger (Simon & Shuster Paperbacks, New York (2020)) (“Catalyst”). The book's thesis is how to get people to change their minds through self-persuasion. To do [Read More]
