As part of my preparation to teach a class on mediation confidentiality, I reviewed the Uniform Mediation Act with all of its comments (UMA). In doing so, it struck me that although mediation is extremely popular and common place, it would be good to remind ourselves why we should mediate [Read More]
The Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA) recently held its annual conference (virtually). The closing plenary remarks were delivered by Randy Lowry- the first president and a founding member of SCMA. The theme of the conference was ‘the magic of mediation” or how a few hours of mediation can work magic [Read More]
On July 14, 2020, I gave a zoom presentation entitled “Some Thoughts on Ethics in the Age of Online Dispute Resolution.” As an aside it was for a wonderful cause- “Will Work for Food”. The concept is that the attendees- rather than paying a registration fee to attend the presentation [Read More]
Recently, I posted a blog about some of the ethical issues that might arise in mediating online using a video conferencing service. While I raised several issues, I did not address how to respond to the issues. The myriad of scholars in the Online Dispute Resolution Field have done so. [Read More]
Originally published in Law360, April 9, 2019 Typically, if a matter settles at mediation, the parties will enter into a settlement agreement then and there to ensure that the matter has indeed settled; there will be no buyer’s remorse or change of mind the next morning. Often included are provisions [Read More]
Informed Consent in Mediations Taking Place in California Originally published in the Daily Journal, September 28, 2018. Download the PDF Version of the Article Here Sometimes parties attend mediation without the proper preparation. If the matter is in litigation, their attorney may not have met with them beforehand to [Read More]
Where we stand on mediation confidentiality, both in California since the Cassel decision and in the Ninth Circuit Originally published in The Advocate, August 2016 Issue. Download the PDF Version of the Article Here (PDF, 250Kb) Phyllis Pollack. Photograph by Jonah Light During the past year, there [Read More]
Two developments occurred regarding mediation confidentiality during the first week of February. First, on Monday, February 1, 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in Craig Milhouse v. Travelers Commercial Insurance, Case Nos. 13-56959 and 13-57029. Dr. and Mrs. Milhouse suffered the total loss of their home [Read More]
