The other day, I opened one of the French doors in our house to let the dog outside where he proceeded to sun himself. Unbeknownst to me, a hummingbird took the open door as an invitation to come inside. I did not realize it until an hour or so later [Read More]
Anyone studying conflict resolution quickly learns that there are five styles to resolving conflicts: avoidance, competition, collaborating, accommodating and compromising (styles) Avoidance “… is knowing that there is a conflict but choosing not to deal with it.” (Id.) If we do not acknowledge or talk about the conflict, maybe it [Read More]
In his book, Influence- Science and Practice, Robert B. Cialdini (4th ed. Allyn and Bacon, Boston 2001) discusses six psychological principles that impact us every day. One of them is Commitment and Consistency: “ It is, quite, simply our desire to be and to appear consistent with what we [Read More]
Suppose you are mediating a divorce in which the wife agrees to accept 25% of the community assets in settlement even though a court would award her 50%. She wants the matter concluded as quickly as possible in the worst way and so will accept anything to be done with [Read More]
Last week I posted a blog discussing which standards in the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators might be the most important. While each of us, undoubtedly, has a different opinion, for fun I decided to ask ChatGPT how it would prioritize the standards. I did so, both from [Read More]
Last semester, one of my students took the wrong take home exam. So, I prepared a special make up exam which was simple yet required a lot of thought: Rank in terms of importance five of the nine model standards in the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators and explain [Read More]
Happy New Year! May 2024 bring you health, happiness and prosperity… and the keeping of your resolutions! Typically- at this time of year- many of us make resolutions that we hope to keep throughout the year. They may pertain to keeping fit, losing weight, not drinking as much alcohol, attaining [Read More]
Recently, I attended a webinar sponsored by the Beverly Hills Bar Association entitled “ Ethical Obligations: How Bias Plays a role in our Decision- Making” presented by Mindy Gulati, Esq., Founder and CEO of Fundamental Advisory. Initially, Ms. Gulati discussed the notions of explicit and implicit Biases as well as [Read More]
