Phyllis Pollack 
everal times in the past, I have discussed the need for each party to prepare for mediation for it to be successful. As you may guess, I return to this topic again because I just conducted a mediation that went nowhere fast because plaintiff was not prepared….
Recently I came upon an older article written by Tammy Lenski entitled, “Face to Face negotiation better than e-mail”….
As a mediator, I have often had a party tell me that she will not settle on the terms proffered because, “It is all about principle!” I take this with a grain or two of salt because I have learned that if the other party becomes sufficiently generous in the offer, the “principled” party will accept the generous terms and settle.
Within the last week, I have read two different articles about the “truth.” The first, a blog posted on Kluwer Mediation Blog on February 8, 2018 entitled, “The Map is not the territory” by Charlie Woods….
When our mother was alive, she used to tell the story that about six weeks after my eldest sister was born, my mother boarded a crowded war time train with my sister in her arms to meet my father then stationed in Nebraska in the Army.
I have had a series of mediations in which I have wondered who was actually in authority? The attorney or the client? As we have all learned somewhere along the line, when it comes to attorneys representing clients….
Lawsuits are products. I know this sounds strange particularly to lawyers who after four years of college, three years of law school and then one or more bar examinations, do not want to consider themselves mere sales people….
Mediations and their participants never cease to amaze me. Recently, I mediated a personal injury lawsuit. It should have settled as liability was not an issue. Defendant was not contesting her fault for making a left turn immediately in front of Plaintiff’s vehicle that was proceeding straight….
Many mediations end in settlement at which point the parties draft a settlement agreement. California law provides a summary procedure by which the parties can enforce the settlement agreement if….
Are you superstitious? Do you wear a “lucky” piece of clothing when you need the “gods” to be with you or have a “lucky” charm that you use or hold dear when you hope and pray that a certain event turns out as you want it to?