The news media have a well-known bad-news bias. If something bad is happening or – better yet – threatening to happen, the headlines scream of impending disaster. Good news, not so much coverage. If something good happens, including averted potential disasters, ho-hum. There is much less coverage and it’s much less prominent. Such was the … Continue reading Mediators Help Save the Economy
As you may know, Noam Ebner and I have been co-editing a book on Star Wars and conflict resolution, soon to be published by DRI Press! This past summer, we have had a couple of opportunities to present some of the ideas from this project at academic and professional conferences — and then this fall, … Continue reading ADR at Comic Cons
Heidi and Guy Burgess have long focused on how society – and our field – can deal with intractable conflicts. They publish a newsletter, Beyond Intractability, that includes lots of thoughtful articles about this. The latest issue features an article they co-authored with Sanda Kaufman, Applying Conflict Resolution Insights to the Hyper-Polarized, Society-Wide Conflicts Threatening … Continue reading How Can We Reduce Hyper-Polarization?
Kris Franklin and Peter Phillips of New York Law School just wrote an excellent article that people who care about teaching dispute resolution in law schools should read: Pass the Salt: Problem Resolution Lawyering Across the 21st Century Law Curriculum. Here’s the abstract: Attorneys work with clients to resolve problems. Legal education can help prepare … Continue reading Problem Resolution Lawyering Across the 21st Century Law Curriculum
I appreciate John’s perspective that it is a shame that the criminal case against Allen H. Weisselberg plead out and did not go to trial due to the serious public interest in the case. My concerns are focused not so much on the fact that the case settled, which I view as inevitable given the … Continue reading Inside a High-Profile Plea Bargain Negotiation: Part II
The New York Times published a fascinating account of the plea bargaining of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization CFO. This was unusual because details of plea bargaining processes usually are kept private. This process included the very active participation of the trial judge, who made suggestions and offered to keep Mr. Weisselberg’s sentence relatively short … Continue reading Inside a High-Profile Plea Bargaining: Part I
There’s a lot to report this year. Among a slew of high-profile moves and new people in our community, we’re already seeing ADR among the hiring advertisements of several schools. With all of the hubbub I’m sure I’ve missed some items worth mentioning (more new hires?). If you have some info to share, please send … Continue reading Comings and Goings – 2022 Edition
Yesterday U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh rejected a plea deal for a Maryland couple accused of trying to sell secrets about nuclear propulsion systems on US Submarines to foreign countries. The judge rejected the deal saying they were not “in the best interest of this community, or, in fact, this country.” The judge went … Continue reading Judge Rejects Plea Deal
The Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York and the City University of New York Dispute Resolution Center at John Jay College will host a Virtual Roundtable Breakfast entitled, “ADR As a First Career: It Is Possible!” featuring Alyson Carrel. She is clinical professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and co-director of its … Continue reading Alyson Carrel Program on Sept 1: ADR As A First Career: It Is Possible!
Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $392 billion of federal investments in energy and climate policies, reflects a complex political evolution over recent decades, as described in this Washington Post article. Multiple Political Changes The bill was adopted on a purely party-line vote, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposed. … Continue reading A Long, Hard Road to “Yes”
