There has been much written about implicit bias, and society has worked hard to eradicate it. Yet, one recent study and one news article indicate that however hard society has tried consciously to be rid of implicit biases, unconsciously, they still exist. In a June 20, 2016 article posted on [Read More]
Several years ago, I took a course with Douglas Noll who noted that everyone in a conflict is a victim, and every person in that conflict has six needs that must be met before the conflict can be resolved: vengeance, vindication, validation, need to be heard, need to create meaning [Read More]
There are right ways and wrong ways to say “I am sorry”. Most of us have figured out the wrong ways… by accident. We try to apologize only to have it blow up in our faces because we continue on by trying to justify or excuse what we just did [Read More]
The recent vote by Great Britain to exit the European Union (aka Brexit) is an example of making decisions emotionally and without thoroughly analyzing the consequences. Or, of not thinking things through. As has been shown in various studies, people’s decisions tend to be emotional rather than rational. Indeed, some [Read More]
I have just returned from a trip to Europe where whether “to Leave or to Remain” is very much the question of the day. It relates to the national referendum which Britain will hold on Thursday- June 23, 2016 on Brexit: should it remain within the European Union or leave? [Read More]
In his bestselling book, Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2011) notes that our brains contain two systems of thought: System 1 which “… operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control” (Id. at 20) and System [Read More]
Recently, I mediated a matter in which the defense representative did not appear in person but was available by telephone. Her attorney as well as plaintiff and her attorney were physically present. Prior to the mediation, counsel had agreed that the defense representative could be available by telephone as she [Read More]
On June 1, 2016, the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) held its meeting in Sacramento and, as in the past, took up mediation confidentiality as the last item on its agenda. It spent approximately 2 hours discussing the topic. Prior to the meeting, Staff Counsel issued 4 memoranda on the [Read More]
