I am linking here to a great post from Vicky Pynchon on how her mediation training helped her when she was canvassing for Barack Obama on Monday in Nevada. It is truly lovely–great story and great lessons. What did I learn on the campaign trail? Other than breaking a lifetime phobia of the cold call … Continue reading What mediation can teach you for the campaign trail
Perhaps the most amazing development in US history occurred when George Washington refused to become king, and peacefully handed over power to John Adams. The concept that power will be voluntarily (or at least peacefully) handed over to someone who believes in completely different values and ideals than the current political leader is still so … Continue reading Go Vote–It’s a Wonderful Dispute Resolution Process
A federal district court in the Northern District of Illinois recently refused to compel arbitration of a consumer’s complaint brought in relation to the purchase of an iPhone. The case is shocking for at least two reasons. It is shocking because the lead attorney for AT&T engaged in shameful, clearly sanctionable behavior during the course … Continue reading iArbitration, iUnconscionability, and the iPhone
At the Works-in-Progress conference this past week at Arizona State University (great job Art!), I had the pleasure of hearing from Professor Scott Hughes on his latest work on mirror neurons. I have blogged about mirror neurons before and the impact on people. It explains things from why Harley rides are pleasurable to why Starbucks runs smoothly. Scott … Continue reading Mirror Neurons & Mediation Advice
For anyone who’s interested in writing about international or comparative mediation, you should be aware of the following opportunity: Call for Papers International Mediation Leadership Summit The Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association, in collaboration with AAA International Centre for Dispute Resolution, ACB Group-Netherlands, ADR Center-Rome, CEDR, CMAP, International Academy of Mediators, … Continue reading Call for Papers: International Mediation
With the onslaught of email and texting, it’s not surprising that more and more negotiation is being conducted by email. Two interesting recent pieces from the blogosphere had some advice on this. First, you should not actually be conducting negotiation over the email according to Vicky Pynchon at Settle It Now. Scientific American just published a … Continue reading Email Negotiation Advice
The best part about politics, and particularly presidential elections, is that each news story or political ad demonstrates the well-known negotiation theory of confirming evidence. In other words, we only believe data that confirms what we already think. And, watching the debate last night or listening to the political commentary afterwards probably confirmed for you … Continue reading Talking to Your Own People
So last week when I received my TIAA-CREF statement (like many professors, I assume) you might have heard me scream from Milwaukee. But now I have a better idea–I should be running the market! Tim Harford, a columnist for the Financial Times and author of The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World … Continue reading Why Women Should Control Wall Street
Although I have not had a chance to read the case or this article, I thought readers would like to know that ADRworld.com is reporting that: The U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned a ruling by the Ninth Circuit that partially vacated an arbitration award based on manifest disregard of the law and instructed the appeals … Continue reading More evidence of the demise of Manifest Disregard
Everyone in the mediation community needs to know the story of Gary Karpin, a disbarred lawyer from Vermont who moved to Arizona and started advertising his services as a divorce mediator. Karpin made a habit of striking up romantic relationships with isolated, lonely, and vulnerable women in order to swindle them out of lots of money. In … Continue reading Con Man Posing as a Mediator Convicted of Fraud and Theft
