On September 11, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 954 which (when it takes effect on January 1, 2019) will require attorneys to inform their clients of the confidentiality restrictions related to mediation and to obtain their clients’ written acknowledgment that this disclosure has been made to them and that [Read More]
The other weekend, my husband and I were visiting some friends (husband and wife) whom we had not seen in a while. As we were leaving, the wife and I were avidly talking with each other, seemingly interrupting each other, or at least, not letting the other finish a sentence. [Read More]
Senator John McCain died last Saturday- August 25, 2018. And since then, tributes and remembrances have been pouring in from all over the world. Except for one person: The President of the United States. On Saturday, in a very terse tweet, he sent his condolences and sympathies to Senator McCain’s [Read More]
No doubt, at some point in your life, you have wanted to take revenge against someone who “did you wrong”. It may have been a casual remark that did not sit well with you or an action someone took that upset you greatly or perhaps someone “threw you under the [Read More]
In previous blogs, I have discussed the notion of implicit or unconscious biases which are “…social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from one’s tendency to organize social [Read More]
Many, many years ago, someone once said to me that people do not begin to negotiate until it is past the time to negotiate. How true this can be as borne out by a recent mediation. The matter involved the purchase and sale of a condo. The mediation was held [Read More]
One of the hardest things about settling a lawsuit is for the parties to let go. They have spent all this time and energy (mental and emotional) as well as money on it over a period of months (if not years) and now, in the face of an offer to [Read More]
When I took my very first mediation training course in 2000, the instructor emphasized the importance of introducing ourselves to each and every one in the room and shaking their hands when we-the mediator- walked into the room for the first time. I did not think much about it, and [Read More]
