Recently, my husband and I met a friend for dinner. During dinner, she noted that she had discovered a book, “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, asking me if I had ever read it. I mentioned I had heard of it but had not read it. [Read More]
I had a strange mediation last week. Neither side submitted briefs, and so I was in the dark about what the mediation was about other than an automobile. The mediation was conducted by telephone. I called plaintiff’s counsel and after introducing myself, the first thing counsel asked was whether she [Read More]
The American Bar Association recently posted an article in its ABA Weekly Newsletter (May 27,2022) about a patient signing an agreement with a hospital acknowledging that she will be charged $1300 for surgery but then being billed about $230,000. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the signed agreement prevailed; because [Read More]
How many times have we heard the refrain,” But, it is not fair!” or “I just want to be fair about this!” Or “All I want is fairness!” Or some similar retort? Suppose these comments arise out of a dispute between three partners: Jane, Joan and Sally. Jane put in [Read More]
We all love a delightful story. And stories are important in negotiating and resolving disputes. This point was eloquently made by Dr. Joshua N. Weiss in Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, “The Sunday Minute” (April 17, 2022): At their best, stories create a sense of connection, build trust, allow the listener [Read More]
The American Bar Association published a story warning us all to be careful about settling by email. It recited the case of Philadelphia Ins. Indemnity Co. v Kendall decided by the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, Case No. 2020-02752, Appeal No. 13756 [Read More]
The Harvard Program on Negotiation (PON) staff posted a blog on ethics in negotiation entitled “Ethics and Negotiation: 5 Principles of Negotiation to Boost Your Bargaining Skills in Business Situations” (April 21, 2022). Naturally, it caught my eye as I teach mediation ethics. The blog post poses 5 questions to [Read More]
Searching for some inspiration for my next blog post, I came across an article in The Conversation entitled, “How the presence of pets builds trust among people”. Noting that 90 million American households have at least one pet, the author Megan Mueller notes that “… research shows our pets can [Read More]
