Perception and transparency. Both are very importantin mediations and negotiations but can be so easily overlooked. This was brought home to me recently in a lengthy mediation that I conducted. It involved a commercial lease and the issue was whether money was owed by the tenant to the landlord for [Read More]
Recently, I conducted a mediation in a matter which probably should never have been filed as a lawsuit; the economics simply were not there. Realistically, plaintiff could not have a Better Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA); every scenario would have been more costly no matter what the amount of [Read More]
In her latest edition of One Minute Negotiating Tips appearing in the August 2013 edition of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's digital magazine ( Volume VII, No. 2), my colleague Linda Bulmash addresses a topic near and dear to me: preparing for negotiation. Her tip actually takes more than [Read More]
In 1999, Professors Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris conducted a now well known study at Harvard University on distraction. As explained in a recent article on BBC Health News:Participants watched a video of two groups of people passing a basketball around - one group in black shirts, one group in [Read More]
Recently, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School posted a blog by Katie Shonk discussing an April 25, 2013 article appearing in the Wall Street Journal written by Zack Anchors (entitled, Mind Mapping Streamlines A Business Negotiation.). In the blog, Ms. Shonk recounts Mr. Anchors' story about a financial [Read More]
I just finished reading a book by J. Anderson Little, Making Money Talk (How to Mediate Insured Claims and Other Monetary Disputes) (ABA Publishing 2007). The book has a lot of practical advice both for mediators and for disputing parties. In simple terms, Mr. Little explains that most disputes which [Read More]
I am a firm believer in the adage that one cannot convince someone to change her mind unless and until she is provided with new or different information. Thus, during the course of mediation, I am unable to change a party's view of the settlement value of a matter without [Read More]
Recently, I conducted a mediation that went much longer than expected. It started at 11:00 am and after a couple of hours, I could see that the session would not conclude anytime soon, so I ordered lunch for everyone. Around dinner time, it appeared that we would soon be finished [Read More]
