I’ve been doing appellate mediation since the program began, and I’ve been genuinely surprised by the success rate. At the program’s inception, I anticipated a significantly lower success rate than I’ve had with non-appellate mediations — but it’s about 70%, which isn’t much lower than my rate for other matters. While my approach to conducting …
Conflict is an inevitable part of life. It will be present wherever there is social interaction. We compete and conflict over scarce resources, perceived insults, and in the search for dominance. But not everyone deals with conflict in the same way. There are five basic styles of conflict management. They are: Competition — The pursuit of …
By Zachary Ulrich The Fundamental Attribution Error In Mediation Have you ever had someone blame you for something over which you had absolutely no control? If you’ve ever been late to a meeting, been framed by a sibling growing up, or otherwise haven’t lived under a rock your entire life, you know what I’m talking …
I. INTRODUCTION Traumatic experiences become a part of an individual forever. At a domestic level, clients may have traumatic experiences like rape, domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse. At an international level, clients are often the victim of human rights abuses ranging from genocide to war crimes. These individual have stories that may remain …
By Zach Ulrich As a kid I used to enjoy looking through glasses of water at the objects beyond because, depending upon the shape of the glass or the flow of the water, the images became distorted, bent, and often produced some pretty funny results. What I didn’t realize at the time was that with …
By Vivian Scott We are a great group of people, us mediators. We understand how emotions and values play into conflict, we recognize the power in a solution that fits both parties’ needs, and we approach the world with a quiet confidence that any disagreement can be resolved. I love that about us. Too bad …
By Zachary Ulrich Ever get mad at someone because they did something you didn’t expect? Of course you have, we all have. They’re not something we directly think about every day, but expectations are a key component of what drives many peoples’ behavior – including our own – all the time. When we sit down …
By Dan Simon “They’re just sore losers,” Myrna said. She had called me to ask whether I’d mediate between her and her neighbors, who were complaining about a fence she’d built and various other things. She’d won in arbitration, but the Smiths didn’t like the arbitrator’s decision, so they sued her in state court. The …
By Jeffrey Krivis The Central Valley of California, known for its good weather and rich soil, is considered the breadbasket of the country. The many people who live in this agricultural community work hard. They know that the literal fruits of their labors feed people, and they are proud of their role in society. …
By Doug Noll I use the term peacemaking to describe the values and processes involved in transforming difficult and intractable conflicts. Peacemaking encompasses mediation; however, mediation, especially mediation of litigated disputes, does not necessarily include peacemaking. Knowing the difference is useful because it can influence the processes and interventions used by mediators. Ten Principles of …