Quite a few times in the life of this blog, I have visited the notion of preparation. I usually address it as a result of someone attending mediation not being prepared. Well... as you might guess, it happened again. I had a mediation last week where it was obvious that [Read More]
This semester, I will be co-teaching a course in negotiation. To prepare, I read the three assigned textbooks on the subject over the holidays. What struck me but not as a surprise, is that each author emphasized the importance of preparing for the mediation. None of them suggests simply walking [Read More]
I will never understand why people go to mediation (and pay lots of money to a mediator) when they are not prepared to settle. I had another one of those mediations recently that went nowhere even before it started. I knew something was amiss when I did not receive any [Read More]
Why do mediators request briefs from the parties? No- it is not just to learn about the case. Their more important function is to force the parties to think and analyze their case; to give some thought about the strengths and weaknesses of their respective cases and consequently, their position [Read More]
Well, it happened again; another mediation in which one side was not prepared. And… as you might surmise, the mediation did not last long. (This is a topic I have often addressed in my blogs.) It involved a used automobile. The plaintiff claimed that the used car dealer breached both [Read More]
I just finished conducting a mediation (lemon law) which did not settle. And I think the prime reason was that there were too many different attorneys handling the matter. Although in the same firm, they apparently were not communicating with each other or the representative of the client handling the [Read More]
Recently, I wrote about the lack of preparation. This week, I am taking that topic one step further: detachment! I had a bizarre mediation the other day. As usual it was a lemon law matter but this time it involved both the manufacturer and the dealer. Unlike many other instances, [Read More]
Several times in the past, I have discussed the need for each party to prepare for mediation for it to be successful. As you may guess, I return to this topic again because I just conducted a mediation that went nowhere fast because plaintiff was not prepared. It truly did [Read More]
