In honor of Valentine’s Day, our wonderful ADR community produced two wonderful sonnets about mediation and circulated them on the DRLE listserv. I am sharing both here, with permissions. From Kristen Blankley (Nebraska), who asked ChatGPT to write a sonnet about the benefits of mediation: I can’t imagine a better way to let go, Mediation … Continue reading Sonnets About Mediation
The word of the month for February is “ussie.” (I’ll try to get on a better schedule with these words of the month, like closer to the actual start of the month.) You’ve heard of a selfie, of course. But do you know what an ussie is? An ussie is a group photo, often taken … Continue reading February: Ussie
New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote a touching essay about his reactions to a lifelong friend’s struggle with depression and ultimate suicide. Mr. Brooks gave Pete advice about how to deal with his depression – and found that his efforts were counterproductive. It’s only later that I read that when you give a depressed … Continue reading The Gift of Really Listening
Some of you know John Stephens, a colleague at the University of North Carolina School of Government, who has focused on conflict resolution for his long career. Like many of us, he was intrigued by ChatGPT and gave the following prompt and got the following response. Describe and contrast three main models of mediation for … Continue reading A Mediator and a Bot Walk into a Bar …
I am sharing the very sad news that Prof. David Lipsky of Cornell University, luminary in the world of labor and employment ADR and personal mentor to me earlier in my career, passed away last week at the age of 83. His obituary describes his many achievements both in our field and for Cornell University’s … Continue reading In memoriam: David Lipsky
The word of the month for January is “freudenfreude.” Freudenfreude, as explained in this New York Times article, is the opposite of schadenfreude. Whereas schadenfreude is defined as “the pleasure we feel when witnessing someone’s misfortune” (presumably, someone we think deserves their misfortune), freudenfreude is rejoicing in someone else’s happiness. Freudenfreude is associated with numerous … Continue reading January: Freudenfreude
The Center for Negotiation & Dispute Resolution (CNDR) at UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of Law), in collaboration with key institutional partners, is putting on an ADR Speaker Series with some terrific guests who will be presenting on cutting edge issues relating to negotiation, mediation, and international arbitration. All except two sessions … Continue reading 2023 ADR Speaker Series at UC Law SF
Kevin McCarthy’s quest to become speaker of the House of Representatives is a master class in how not to negotiate. He became what New York Times columnist Paul Krugman calls “speaker in name only” after fifteen ballots over five days. Election of a speaker normally is a routine event, and this was the first time … Continue reading How Not to Negotiate
Forrest (Woody) Mosten, Elizabeth Potter Scully, and Lara Traum’s book, Effectively Representing Clients in Family Mediation, was just published by the ABA. This is particularly valuable because many parties rely on lawyers to represent them in mediation, and there probably are many more lawyers who act as advocates in mediation than those who mediate. The … Continue reading New Book on Effectively Representing Clients in Family Mediation
Noam Ebner (Creighton) and I are delighted to announce (1) our new co-edited book, Star Wars and Conflict Resolution; and (2) the CfP for the sequel (tentative title: Episode II)! From the Introduction: “Never upset a Wookiee.” “Be mindful of your thoughts.” “Surrender is sometimes a perfectly reasonable option. “Failure to listen may lead to … Continue reading Star Wars and Conflict Resolution
