All posts by mmoffitt@uoregon.edu

The Four Ways to Assure Mediator Quality (and why none of them work)

Shameless self-promotion alert! Earlier today, I posted my first draft of an article entitled The Four Ways to Assure Mediator Quality (and why none of them work) I gave a presentation by the same title at Harvard Law School’s Dispute Resolution Forum about six weeks ago, and this draft reflects much of the feedback I … Continue reading The Four Ways to Assure Mediator Quality (and why none of them work)

JAMS Announces a Fellowship Opportunity and a Call for Proposals

Jay Folberg, Executive Director of the JAMS Foundation, recently sent out an announcement about the JAMS-sponsored Weinstein International Fellowship and about the foundation’s call for proposals regarding conflict resolution training for school teachers. Unless I lose another battle with the technology underlying this blog, I will post the announcements below. I believe the information is … Continue reading JAMS Announces a Fellowship Opportunity and a Call for Proposals

Hall Street & “a la carte justice on demand”

In response to Sarah Cole’s initial posting on the Hall Street decision, ohwilleke wrote: The clearest purpose I can see for the ruling is an institutional perogative of the judicial branch which does not want to be compelled to provide a la carte justice on demand.       What’s interesting about the hypothesis ohwilleke offers is that … Continue reading Hall Street & “a la carte justice on demand”

“Teaching Hard Bargaining in an Interest-Based Negotiation Course”

Richard Reuben kindly has agreed to permit us to post the contents of the presentation he gave at the AALS meeting in January 2008 entitled “Teaching Hard Bargaining in an Interest-Based Negotiation Course.” Richard’s basic premise is NOT that hard bargaining ought to supplant instruction in interest-based bargaining. Nor does he argue that hard bargaining … Continue reading “Teaching Hard Bargaining in an Interest-Based Negotiation Course”

A Fourth U.S. Supreme Court Arbitration Case This Year

Today, the Supreme Court granted cert in a FOURTH arbitration case.  Many years have passed since the Court granted cert in this many arbitration cases.  The case, Vaden v. Discover Bank, 07-0773, will answer an important question about federal courts’ jurisdiction over disputes subject to an arbitration agreement that do not raise a federal question … Continue reading A Fourth U.S. Supreme Court Arbitration Case This Year

“Peace in the Desert” Lecture Series Webcasts Now Available

Jean Sternlight at UNLV recently sent out an announcement that they have just posted webcasts of some of their recent “Peace in the Desert” lectures. http://www.law.unlv.edu/media_Events.html Among the speakers are:  John Paul Lederach, Professor of International Peacebuilding, The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peacebuilding, University of Notre Dame: “The Moral Imagination: The Art and … Continue reading “Peace in the Desert” Lecture Series Webcasts Now Available

Dispute Systems Design Symposium at Harvard Law School – Part 2

Yesterday, I provided a link to the live blogging going on at the DSD symposium at Harvard Law School, and I erroneously linked only to the blog associated with yesterday afternoon’s panel on DSD in organizational settings.  The live blogging takes place on a session-by-session basis, and the general portal is found at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/hnmcp/2008/03/03/.  Today’s panels … Continue reading Dispute Systems Design Symposium at Harvard Law School – Part 2

Dispute Systems Design Symposium at Harvard Law School

Today and tomorrow, the Harvard Negotiation Law Review is hosting an enormous symposium exploring various aspects of Dispute Systems Design.My understanding is that they will be posting web-based video of at least some of the presentations, and I will post a link to those when they become available.  I am sitting in the audience, and … Continue reading Dispute Systems Design Symposium at Harvard Law School

Ethical Codes and the Commercial Mediator

At the 2008 AALS Section meeting, Dwight Golann and Ellen Waldman (two of the most thoughtful scholars of mediation ethics I know) presented a talk entitled “Ethical Codes and the Commercial Mediator.” They have graciously agreed to share the powerpoint materials they used in the presentation. (Attached below.) I am hopeful that we may entice … Continue reading Ethical Codes and the Commercial Mediator

Imposing Arbitration on the “Big Guys”

Jean Sternlight recently published an article entitled In Defense of Mandatory Binding Arbitration (If Imposed on the Company), 8 Nev. L. J. 82 (2007).  She describes the project as one that she conceived initially as a “lark,” but what emerges is a truly fascinating thought exercise.  Jean’s basic thesis is summarized in the excerpt below.  … Continue reading Imposing Arbitration on the “Big Guys”