I had a really weird almost mediation recently. It was a lemon law matter. It cancelled at the last minute simply because plaintiff’s counsel (let’s call her Joan) was sending another attorney (let’s call her Janice) in her stead. The defendant did not like this substitution and so cancelled. It [Read More]
Several weeks ago, I attended the annual fall conference of the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA). While all the sessions were very good, one of them on emotional intelligence (presented by Harold Coleman, Jr. Esq, Debra Dupree MFT, Psy.D., and Matt Argue, Esq. entitled “The Modern Mediator: Interplay of Psychology [Read More]
Once again, Thanksgiving is upon us. Last year- 2017- 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]
Over the years, many people have told me that they sometimes use the “carrot and stick” approach as a negotiation tactic. Wikipedia defines this tactic as The phrase "carrot and stick" is a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior. It is based on the [Read More]
The art of negotiation seems to be very much in the news today, with issues involving trade, tariffs, immigration, arms sales, nuclear arms, et cetera. In preparing to teach a class on negotiation ethics as part of my Mediation Ethics course at USC Gould School of Law, it dawned on [Read More]
Informed Consent in Mediations Taking Place in California Originally published in the Daily Journal, September 28, 2018. Download the PDF Version of the Article Here Sometimes parties attend mediation without the proper preparation. If the matter is in litigation, their attorney may not have met with them beforehand to [Read More]
One well known mantra of mediators is that it is always better to mediate prior to filing a lawsuit than to incur the time and expense lawsuits entail. Most lawyers will tell you that litigation is the most expensive and least efficient way of resolving a matter; yet, they will [Read More]
I came across an article on negotiation ethics that intrigued me because I am co-teaching ADR Ethics at USC Gould School of Law this semester. Typically, before I discuss the topic of mediation ethics with my students, I delve into the topic of “negotiation ethics” in general. The article, entitled [Read More]
