Communities of Practice and the Continuing Evolution of Mediation

Long ago and far away, I was one of the people who successfully advocated for the institutionalization of ADR in a state court system.  But based on research conducted by Professor Bobbi McAdoo and others, I got pretty discouraged about what non-family civil, court-connected mediation had become—dominated by lawyers and a legal-and-litigation focus, characterized almost … Continue reading Communities of Practice and the Continuing Evolution of Mediation →

Supreme Court Orders Additional Briefing in Hall Street

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Today, the Court issued an order requesting supplemental briefing from the Hall Street Parties. The order is as follows: ORDER IN PENDING CASE 06-989 HALL STREET ASSOC. V. MATTEL, INC. The parties are directed to file supplemental briefs addressing the following questions: (1) Does authority exist outside the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) under which a … Continue reading Supreme Court Orders Additional Briefing in Hall Street →

Missing Jon Stewart and What the Writer’s Guild Strike Has to do with Negotiation

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Strikes that get played out in the news are interesting public displays of negotiation positions that we are often not privy to otherwise. In the strike of the Writers Guild of America, their position, as expressed in the New York Times by Damon Lindeloff (the co-creator and head writer for the television series Lost) is … Continue reading Missing Jon Stewart and What the Writer’s Guild Strike Has to do with Negotiation →

Emotions and Problem Definition in Mediation

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Leonard Riskin and I have written an article that will appear in the summer issue of the George Mason Law Review. Because we are concerned that many mediation sessions are characterized by a narrow, law-and-litigation-oriented problem definition, the article proposes several mechanisms to encourage parties to choose the problem definition for their mediation. Do they … Continue reading Emotions and Problem Definition in Mediation →

Hall Street v. Mattel Oral Argument Yesterday by Sarah Cole

The parties in Hall Street argued their case on November 7, 2007. While the argument was difficult to follow, I thought I could discern some of the justices’ points of view. Chief Justice Roberts suggested that when parties agree to expand judicial review of arbitration awards, they take themselves outside the scope of the Federal … Continue reading Hall Street v. Mattel Oral Argument Yesterday by Sarah Cole →

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