A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about proposed legislation- SB 940- allowing the State Bar of California to certify mediators or, more accurately, certify ADR provider organizations. See Certifying Mediators. The California Legislature is also considering another bill- SB 1141- that, if passed, could have a profound impact [Read More]
Typically, I post blogs about a  recent mediation or about mediation theory or practice. But today I am posting about a scam. We have all heard about various scams in which the scoundrels attempt to have someone give valuable information over the telephone or perhaps hire an attorney and convince [Read More]
Recently, the topic of whether mediators should draft settlement agreements arose in my mediation ethics class. I suggested that if the parties have attorneys, the mediator should encourage the attorneys to draft the agreement. A student took issue stating that then the mediator loses “control”. I disagreed noting that the [Read More]
Once again, I am teaching mediation ethics to graduate students at the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California. Over the last couple of weeks, we have been focusing on “informed consent.” Standard I of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators covers self-determination and mandates that [Read More]
A colleague of mine- Jan Frankl Shau, Esq.-recently published an article in the Los Angeles Daily Journal entitled “ A New paradigm for mediation: the role of “bearing witness” (July 28, 2023). In it, she notes that sometimes the job of the mediator is simply to “bear witness” or  simply [Read More]
The other day I conducted a mediation between a non-English speaking plaintiff and a used car dealer. The issue was whether the dealer had misrepresented certain aspects of the sale to the plaintiff.  We were well on the way to settling the matter when the issue of attorneys’ fees came [Read More]
Last week, I conducted a lemon law mediation which highlighted a very valuable lesson. People need to be heard, acknowledged, and told that what they are saying has merit. The plaintiff leased a luxury automobile. At one point, she brought it into the dealership after the check engine light came [Read More]
The last mediation I conducted in 2021 did not result in a resolution. There were a number of reasons why which I could not quite put my finger on. But over the holidays I read some books on negotiation which helped to crystallize my thinking. One of the books, Bargaining [Read More]
