Category Archives: General

What I’m Reading – Thanks for the Feedback

Legal academics and practitioners are professional feedback givers and receivers.  Of course, faculty constantly give feedback to students – and also to colleagues.  Faculty are frequently evaluated for hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions as well as about their publications and presentations, funding requests, and lots of other things. Practitioners regularly provide clients with feedback, often … Continue reading What I’m Reading – Thanks for the Feedback →

Negotiation Will Not Fix Sexism

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Let’s start with the obvious–it pains me to realize that negotiation can’t fix everything.  As someone who loves to teach negotiation–and has long believed in the power of positive asking–I also need to recognize when individual action will not–and cannot–fix the ingrained biases and structural sexism that exists in the workplace.  A slew of recent … Continue reading Negotiation Will Not Fix Sexism →

What I’m Reading – PBS Documentary on William Randolph Hearst

I learned a lot about William Randolph Hearst by watching the PBS American Experience documentary about him.  He is best known as a purveyor of “yellow journalism,” promoter of the Spanish-American War, and the target of the Orson Welles film, Citizen Kane.  The documentary shows that he has had a huge and continuing impact on … Continue reading What I’m Reading – PBS Documentary on William Randolph Hearst →

Webinar Oct 14 (“Settle and Sue: Managing Malpractice Risks for Mediators and Lawyers”)

Later this week, I’ll be part of a webinar on malpractice in the mediation & settlement arenas. This is part of the willworkforfood.news project, (introduced to me by Jeff Kichaven) in which webinar participants are charged no fee, but are invited to make contributions to a local food bank. (My contributions go to: foodforlanecounty.org.) October … Continue reading Webinar Oct 14 (“Settle and Sue: Managing Malpractice Risks for Mediators and Lawyers”) →

What I’m Reading – The Social Dilemma

“Facebook is like a pocketknife:  You can use it to peel an apple or stab a janitor at school.”  So said tech analyst (and talk-show host) Jimmy Kimmel. Noam Ebner (not a talk-show host) wrote, “Its positive characteristics and opportunities notwithstanding, the Internet has become something similar to a bad neighborhood after dark. … Even … Continue reading What I’m Reading – The Social Dilemma →

Constructing Good ODR Systems

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ODR is likely to be an increasingly important part of legal and dispute resolution processes in the future, with potential benefits and risks.  It particularly has great potential to help self-represented litigants (SRLs, aka “pro se” parties). So I was interested to read an article by my colleague, Amy Schmitz, and John Zeleznikow, Intelligent Legal … Continue reading Constructing Good ODR Systems →

What I’m Reading – Worth

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Who’d expect Netflix to produce a movie about dispute system design?  Or that it would be really good? Its docudrama, Worth, about the process of designing and implementing the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund, actually is terrific.  (Note that this What-I’m-Reading series isn’t limited to just reading stuff.) It is based on Kenneth Feinberg’s book, What … Continue reading What I’m Reading – Worth →

What I’m Reading – Frederik Backman Books

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I’m starting this What-I’m-Reading series with two books by Swedish author, Fredrik Backman.  They are his first book, A Man Called Ove (OOH-vah), and his latest book, Anxious People.  Backman has become quite a phenomenon, publishing a series of books, some of which have been made into movies, including Ove. Ove is a grumpy, get-off-my-lawn … Continue reading What I’m Reading – Frederik Backman Books →