* Articles

Identifying a Power Imbalance (Part 2 of 2)

by
Identifying a Power Imbalance

In the first of this pair of articles, we discussed the definition of a power imbalance, identified the types of power that may be utilized against another party, and the early signs of a power imbalance. Once a neutral identifies that one of the parties has more power than the other and is using their power to make the negotiations end in their favor, it is important for the neutral to act quickly to attempt to bring the power in the negotiations into balance between the parties.

Left Brain vs Right Brain Conflict Resolution

by
Left Brain and Right Brain Conflict Resolution

Our brains are mostly divided into two hemispheres. They each have their own way of responding to conflicts, although there is some overlap. Our brains are really a combination of parts that serve different purposes. They take turns in dominating our thinking at times and generally work together – just as we have many muscles in our arms that work together rather than just one muscle.

Share Mediation Briefs to Save Time and Get Better Results

by
Share Mediation Briefs to Save Time and Get Better Results

Mediation briefs should be shared well before the mediation session: to save time in session; to give each side the full force of the other’s positions; to give each side time to carefully consider the other’s positions and calmly prepare a response; to begin establishing the settlement ballpark. Let’s consider the alternatives, their bases, and their effects.

De-escalating Encounters with Confrontational People

by
De-escalating Encounters with Confrontational People

If you are a conflict resolution professional, you are very likely to meet with angry, confrontational, and aggressive people on an almost daily basis. You may even be called in specifically to deal with them, if you are an HR professional or an ombuds. It’s almost inevitable. People in conflict are almost always emotional. Even business disputes aren’t “just business.” Our emotions affect every decision we make.

Incorporating Arbitration Agreements By Reference

by
Incorporating Arbitration Agreements By Reference

In recent months, three federal circuit courts have confronted this question: can a defendant compel arbitration even in the absence of a signed written agreement containing an arbitration clause? The answers were yes, no, and maybe, but the analysis in all three turns on whether the party resisting arbitration should reasonably have known that an arbitration clause was part of the deal.

Game Theory, Negotiation, and the “Black Box”

by
Game Theory, Negotiation, and the "Black Box"

James F. Ring and some colleagues gave a fascinating talk at the recent ABA Dispute Resolution Section on Game Theory; Where it started was cutting a cake; Where it ended was cutting out the lawyers, at least by implication.

Top Ten Mediation Blogs

by

One reason I started this site was because there didn’t seem to be all that many blogs on mediation, so I thought I might be able to contribute to the discussion.  Since I started, some have dropped out, and new sites have cropped up.  Here is a list of some sites that have mostly been around longer than I have, and that I tend to turn to most often.

The Dark Side of Mediation

by
The Dark Side of Mediation

Many attempts have been made to link theory to practice, yet mediation, particularly in the context of litigated cases, stubbornly defies scientific evaluation’s; That explains why I expected to dislike Debbie De Girolamo’s treatise, The Fugitive Identity of Mediation: Negotiations, Shift Changes and Allusionary Action.

The ADA Interactive Reasonable Accommodation Process

by
The ADA Interactive Reasonable Accommodation Process

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered employers to grant reasonable accommodations to those otherwise qualified employees who are able to complete the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. The employer may negate the duty by showing that the only possible reasonable accommodations impose an undue hardship on the employer.

Mediation Privilege: The Twin Supports of Resolution (Part 2 of 2)

by
Mediation Confidentiality and Privilege: The Twin Supports of Resolution

The companion provision to mediation confidentiality is the mediation privilege, which makes evidence of mediation communications inadmissible in future legal proceedings. As with the confidentiality provisions discussed above, local laws are a crazy quilt, with only about half the states having adopted the UMA or similar provisions. The federal courts are even more inconsistent.

error: ADR Times content is protected.