For a forthcoming article about law school mediation courses, I developed a list of key values and principles that I think people in our field generally share. They are about the roles of practitioners – including both mediators and attorneys – when working with clients in mediation. Faculty can advocate them in any mediation course … Continue reading Shared Values and Principles in Mediation
Posting my short article, The Important Role of Attorneys in Promoting Parties’ Self-Determination in Mediation, on the NYC-DR listserv prompted several reactions. This post highlights and elaborates some points in my article. Why Law School Faculty Should Increase Instruction in Mediation Representation I’m a retired law professor who mediated and taught mediation for years. The … Continue reading Attorneys, Mediators, and Self-Determination
What about Mom and apple pie? For or against? Most people take for granted that all these things are indisputably good (at least in theory) though we usually don’t think much about why. Not so with Andrew Mamo. He recently published Unsettling the Self: Rethinking Self-Determination in Mediation, which deeply analyzes the meaning of self-determination. … Continue reading Are You in Favor of Self-Determination in Mediation?
I recently published It’s Time to Make Important Upgrades to Our Mediation Curriculum, which notes significant changes in American mediation practice in the past five decades and suggests that law school faculty upgrade our mediation instruction accordingly. Modern Mediation Practice in American Legal Cases is a two-page summary of that article, which was published in … Continue reading Modern Mediation Practice in American Legal Cases
Many of us know Ava Abramowitz, a retired Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington. She recently gave a presentation at the Garibaldi Inn of Court, “Making Words Matter.” The communication behaviors discussed in her presentation can give mediators, lawyers, disputants and litigants more tools to communicate. and in the process, help them develop additional … Continue reading Ava Abramowitz on Making Words Matter
It’s not breaking news that law school graduates generally have difficulty working with clients, don’t understand the “big picture” of client matters, and aren’t well trained in negotiation. The problem for law students and law schools is exacerbated by the transition to the NextGen bar exam and a movement in various states to use alternative … Continue reading Two Short Articles Proposing Courses Teaching Preparation and Advocacy in Dispute Resolution
Are you going to teach a law school mediation course this fall? If so, I suggest that you read It’s Time to Make Important Upgrades to Our Mediation Curriculum right away. It’s also relevant to ADR survey, negotiation, and lawyering courses. The article includes numerous suggestions and links to handy resources that you can incorporate … Continue reading If You Will Teach a Law School Mediation Course This Fall, Read This Article Right Away
This 4-page article riffs on comments at a program at the recent ABA Section of Dispute Resolution conference to illustrate how oxymoronic the terms “facilitative,” “evaluative,” and “empowerment” have become. When people use these terms, we kinda, sorta, probably think we know what they mean. But we don’t really know. The article suggests ways that … Continue reading Oxymorons R Us
I recently gave a presentation about how mediators use technology in their practices. The program was organized by the Technology and Mediation Committees of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and co-sponsored by seven other committees. I’m sure no tech expert but I used the program to collect data from practitioners who use technology in … Continue reading A Snapshot of How Mediators Use Technology These Days
At its midyear meeting, the ABA House of Delegates unanimously approved Resolution 500, which states: That the American Bar Association urges lawyers and all interested parties to increase the informed and voluntary use of Early Dispute Resolution: party-directed, non-adjudicative approaches to resolve disputes in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner, including, but not limited to, direct … Continue reading ABA Adopts Policy Encouraging Early Dispute Resolution
