Featured Blogs Section
Featured Blog Posts
Use Mediators and Police as Conflict Resolution Partners
In recent efforts to improve law enforcement’s role in serving our communities, a major issue is whether police departments can be assisted or replaced by professionals better suited to handling citizen calls on some issues.
Mediators Needed in this Time Which Tries Our Souls
I am calling upon all Professional Mediators to deploy as a powerful peacemaking force in our current national crisis.
Failing to Notice the Generosity of Others
Empathy within a mediation session can prove a catalyst for success as long the mediator helps parties not miss the opportunity. Recognizing this skill and the courage of parties to move from entrenched positions will not be missed by an experienced mediator.
What Do ‘Lay’ People Know About Justice?
University teachers faced with marking hundreds of papers have been known to find some crumbs of comfort in students’ more eccentric answers.
Let Communities and Police Together Keep the Peace: Op-Ed
: Op-EdScores of cellphone videos, capturing police violence around the country, have revealed to millions the depth and breadth of systemic racial bias in the United States. Understandably, many are calling for a new way.
BATNA’S Got to Go
In a recent DRLE listserv colloquy, I threatened to save for another day an extended rant about why we are so doggone attracted to using confusing jargon. That day has arrived.
Mediation in the Legal Culture of Italian Lawyers: Some Data from an Empirical Study
In this short article, the author outlines the main findings of a qualitative research study conducted in Italy in 2018 with the purpose of understanding how mediation is enculturated in the legal culture of local attorneys, and what role, if any, the local law regulating mandatory mediation plays in this regard.
Parenting While Angry
This article is arranged as an open letter to my clients, who are divorcing during the pandemic.
Did Traditional Mediation Die?
After writing the obituary, many comments came forward saying mediation was not dead. It was different. This is a response to those comments.
Kristen Blankley: New Opportunities for Pro Bono in a Pandemic
COVID-19 has created additional need for legal services in many areas, including housing, consumer law, employment law, probate, family law, domestic violence advocacy, criminal law, among others.
George Floyd: A Call to White Leadership
The purpose of this brief article is to respond to the article titled “George Floyd: What Leaders Need To Do Now,”published in Mediate.com and to offer some comments by a living black man whose paternal grandfather and grandmother were slaves.
Using Mediation for Family Business Disputes
Being in business with family members involves some unique dynamics that are not present with other types of business arrangements.
Behind the Legal Frustration
This paper focuses on the problems with litigation, the effectiveness of Arbitration in comparison with litigation and concludes by addressing the issue raised in the question relating to the effectiveness of arbitration in comparison to litigation.
Addressing Ethical Issues in Online Mediations
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.
Avoiding the Need for Workplace Dispute Resolution
Conflict arises in most workplaces at one point or another, but companies who take time to address the unmet needs of their employees may find that they have an easier time preventing or managing conflict overall.
Mediating Disputes Involving Financially Shaky Defendants
My experience suggests that the mediator's toolbox contains techniques that can help financially shaky defendants settle.
Make Your Next Apology Irresistible
Apologies are an important part of conflict resolution--and they are not always easy!
Mumbai Set to Host India’s First Masters Course in Mediation
Mediation in India has taken giant strides over the last few years. The new course offerings are a testament to these advances.
Ministerial Panel on Extrajudicial Proceedings in Civil and Commercial Matters
The Manifesto of Justice Complementary to the Jurisdictional System: A Concrete Answer to the Social and Economic Emergency. An Italian manifesto for resolving social disputes.
Managing Conflict at Home During COVID-19
This links to a free course for practitioners, or to show to their clients as a resource, for resolving home conflict during the quarantine.
Congress Awakes!
This is an opinion piece about the country's response to the pandemic: "There is no simple prescription without the hard work of identifying the precise nature of our problems and working together toward their remedy."
What Happens If You are Getting a Military Divorce?
Most of those in the know agree that military marriages are burdened by stresses and strains beyond those of an ordinary marriage.
Exploring Mediation in Netflix's Tiger King
Netflix's ubiquitous documentary, Tiger King, is a real-life lesson in the value of mediation over litigation. Whether you're Joe Exotic battling with Carole Baskin, an employee frustrated with a co-worker, or a spouse leaving a marriage, mediation can work efficiently while preserving your sanity, saving you time, and reducing your costs.
Tips for Divorcing Couples - Videos 2 through 5
We decided to bring experts together who can provide some tips on how to deal with the stress of not only COVID-19 but the stress of going through a divorce or separation during these unprecedented times.
In Zoom We Trust
My first real-life experience with pandemic-forced online dispute resolution was in early April — a baptism by fire.
The Kindness of Strangers During a Pandemic
Amidst all the pandemic grief and fear, people step up in big ways to help each other.
What Mediators Must Consider as They Work
This article highlights the impact of COVID-19 on face to face mediation as social distancing is encouraged. It also discusses other instances when mediators need to stay away from the mediation process such as when they are physically tired or when they face psychological or mental issues.
To Mediate (out of) Corona
What can be learnt from mediation practices, towards handling the Corona challenges?
ODR Tips and Tricks
With the COVID-19 pandemic and everybody home, Internet becomes the highway of contact with the world. And, in mediation, mass transmigration to ODR.
The Death of Traditional Mediation - An Obituary
Traditional mediation was not a "one size fits all."
4 Things You Definitely Need to Become an Accomplished Online Mediator
The success of online mediation depends 95% on your mediation experience and skills.
Divorce & Managing Anxiety during COVID-19 - Video
We decided to bring experts together who can provide some tips on how to deal with the stress of not only COVID-19 but the stress of going through a divorce or separation during these unprecedented times.
Lessons from Teaching Facilitation Online
What a dispute resolution teacher has learned about connecting online.