An article in this week’s The Economist discusses the benefits of mindful breathing in reducing stress. It got me thinking that perhaps the parties in mediation should start the session with mindful breathing. The article “Can you breathe stress away?” discusses a meta-analysis published in Scientific Reports in 2023. The [Read More]
Recenly, I came upon a blog post from the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School that is worth discussing. It is entitled “10 Hard Bargaining Negotiation Tactics to Watch” Out for in a Negotiation" by Pon Staff (January 19, 2025). I have seen one or more of these [Read More]
The Harvard Negotiation PON’s recent blog raises an interesting issue: in a negotiation should you set a goal? In “The Anchoring Effect and How It Can Impact Your Negotiation”, it answers “yes”. Noting that the “anchoring effect is a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too [Read More]
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]
