Practical Ethics for Mediators in 2008? No, this is neither a prediction nor a demand. Rather, it is a new year’s wish on my part. A book with a title something roughly like that is slated to appear this coming year, I believe. And I look forward to it greatly. Conceived and edited by Professor … Continue reading Practical Ethics for Mediators in 2008?
With the two new Supreme Court decisions handed down at the beginning of last week regarding judicial discretion in federal sentencing and the federal sentencing commission allowing retroactivity on some of the sentences regarding crack cocaine, it appears that the pendulum may start swinging back in favor of allowing more judicial control over sentencing. Until … Continue reading Plea Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law Revisited
So, in an attempt to avoid more grading (as Michael wrote about so eloquently last week), I was thinking about better ways of assessing progress in ADR classes. I, for one, still don’t think that I have quite figured out the successful way to test law students. I also think students know this. I give … Continue reading Negotiating Your Grades
The agency literature is filled with discussions of how best to structure compensation systems to promote the right incentives for people we hire to do things on our behalf. Embedded in most of it is an assumption that we can tell when someone is doing a good job. That’s not a bold assumption when I … Continue reading Evaluating Agents, Attorneys, Arbitrators, Mediators (and Students)
Sheldon Larky, a full-time family law mediator from Michigan, visited the Moritz College of Law to speak to our students about mediation advocacy and negotiation tactics. Sheldon was a delightful speaker who offered some interesting insights. Chief among those were that one should never negotiate at one’s own office. If a lawyer chooses to negotiate … Continue reading Negotiation Techniques
Aside from the fact you might not have cared about the Packer game last week, unless you lived in a local market (Milwaukee, Green Bay, or Dallas), you couldn’t have watched it anyway. Due to the stalled negotiations between the NFL and cable providers, with Comcast and Time Warner leading the way, only about 4 … Continue reading Why I Got to Watch the Packers Lose (And You Probably Did Not)
During the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, we were introduced to the concept of the “embedded journalist.” Pentagon officials claimed that they were limiting journalists’ access in order to ensure their safety and protect secret military operations. These protestations likely were sincere, but Pentagon officials also must have been aware that “embedded journalists” were … Continue reading The Rise of the “Embedded Neutral?”
Do practicing mediators actually turn to conventional articulations of mediation ethical standards for guidance? So much ink has been spilled describing mediator standards, and so many hours have been devoted to parsing their every word, that some might hope the answer is “Yes, of course!” But I doubt busy mediators ever consult them. I personally … Continue reading Mediator Ethics … and What Actually Guides Us
Last week, I wondered aloud (or whatever the blog equivalent of “aloud” may be) why I had so few experiences in which mediation parties said “thank you” to each other upon arriving at a settlement. Geoff Sharp indicated that his experience in New Zealand was different—that he routinely sees parties thanking each other early and often … Continue reading Ongoing Relationships and the Perils of Gratitude
