Most people attend mediation, fully engaged and committed to the process, hoping to resolve a matter. However, there are some who attend mediation with no real desire to settle, despite their outward claims. I had such a mediation the other day. It was court-ordered on the eve of trial. The [Read More]
While driving home the other day, I heard a story on NPR that caught my attention. It was about Kentucky prisoners hacking a computer system to put more money into their digital accounts than existed. It happened at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in Oldham County, Kentucky. After a prisoner [Read More]
The blog post on the Harvard Program on Negotiation(PONS) raised an interesting and timely issue: using chatbots to assist in negotiations. In her post, “Chatbot Negotiations: What can AI Do for You?” author Katie Shonk (August 8, 2024) relays the story of Walmart’s use of a chatbot to negotiate with [Read More]
Last week, the news was full of a study about the effects of excessive heat on young children (coinciding with the start of school, no doubt), noting that it hits them hard. An article from the Harvard Graduate School of Education entitled "Excessive Heat Hits Young Children Hard” by Elizabeth [Read More]
Recently, 60 Minutes presented a segment on Story Corps and, more particularly, on its program One Small Step, which is “… a national effort to help bridge divides during a contentious election year.” (Id.) To do so, the program brings people of diverse, if not opposite, backgrounds together to spend [Read More]
If you have paid the slightest attention to the news over the last few weeks, you have noticed that a heat wave is gripping most of the nation. Excessive heat warnings seem to be posted everywhere. Thus, a recent New York Times article entitled “How Heat Affects the Brain” by [Read More]
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]
I opened the Science section of the New York Times last week to find an article about the value of mediation when siblings cannot agree on the next care steps for their elderly parents. Entitled “When Families Fight Over a Relative With Dementia, It’s Time to Call in the Mediator.,” [Read More]
