I just obtained a teaching position as a Lecturer of Law (aka adjunct professor) at University of Southern California Gould School of Law teaching the mediation ethics portion of an ADR Ethics class. One of the issues we will be discussing is the conflicting goals of the participants (that is, [Read More]
Several weeks ago, I posted a blog discussing two “lures of the Tribal Mind” set out by Daniel Shapiro in his recent book “Negotiating the Nonnegotiable.” (Viking 2016). Those lures- Vertigo and Repetition Compulsion- struck me as the most common and ones to which we all can easily relate. However, [Read More]
While everyone agrees that it is always best to have the actual parties and counsel physically present at a mediation, this is not always possible. Often, the plaintiff may appear by telephone and at times, I may not even be able to speak to the plaintiff but only to her [Read More]
On April 13, 2017, the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) met once again to discuss mediation confidentiality as well as other topics. In preparation for this meeting, Barbara Gaal, Chief Deputy Counsel posted Memorandum 2017-19 which contains the almost final version of the Tentative Recommendation that will probably be posted [Read More]
If you have not yet figured it out, this notion of “alternative facts” intrigues me. (This is my third blog about it!) I think it is because as a mediator, I witness “alternative facts” quite frequently. No party is “lying” to me; in telling her story to me, she is simply [Read More]
Well… we missed it again! International Day of Happiness was March 20, 2017, according to the United Nations High Level Meeting on happiness and well-being. But, perhaps, missing it was not such a bad thing. According to the report, Norway ranks first followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. The United [Read More]
Imagine this scenario: “Jack” is having a conversation with “Jill” about whether to go up the hill to fetch a pail of water. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_Jill_(nursery_rhyme)) From out of nowhere, Jill makes an offhand but biting remark to which Jack responds negatively. The ensuing conversation gets totally off track on whether they [Read More]
Recently, I posted a blog about “alternative facts.” Since then, I have come upon two more articles discussing why alternative facts, are, indeed, true. It all comes down to who is in charge, sociability and/or to our cognitive biases. In an article entitled “Seeking truth among ‘alternative facts’” by Peter [Read More]
