William J. O'Connor - ADR Services

Lincoln Unchained: A Principled Hardball Negotiator For the Ages - Film Review (5/16/13)
Robert Benjamin
“Lincoln” is worthy of admission to the elite pantheon of excellent films, few in number, that focus on negotiation. More than merely a well-drawn historical drama, as some have characterized it, the film pushes beyond the simplistic mythology of Lincoln as the great emancipator and savior of the Union to examine the reality of what is required to negotiate difficult human events. Not surprisingly, little has changed in the intervening 150 years, which makes the film deserving of careful review by teachers and practitioners of negotiation and mediation.

Dzhokar Tsarnaev (5/16/13)
William Hymes
As we find ourselves satiated with the lurid details of the Boston Marathon Bombing, we notice the comic relief story: “Social Media Shows Support for Alleged Bomber’s Innocence." The temptation here is to either chuckle at Dzhokhar’s supporters’ refusal to accept the incursion of reality into their lives or express anger that there is any support at all for one who seems likely to have committed such an atrocity, and utilize this as an opportunity to allow ourselves to exclude these voices and belittle their message.

Fourth and Goal: How The 2011 NFL Season Was Saved (5/15/13)
Judd Larson
The National Football League (“NFL”) labor dispute lasted over 130 days. The specific dispute was a labor controversy over revenue sharing, and effective negotiations were the only thing that allowed the 2011 NFL season to proceed.

ODR and eNegotiation (5/15/13)
Ernest Thiessen, Paul Miniato, Bruce Hiebert
Online dispute resolution (ODR) and eNegotiation are two overlapping components within the world of electronic group decision support systems. eNegotiation encompasses all online transactions in which two or more parties seek an agreement through negotiation. These negotiations can range from e-Commerce to international peace treaties.

Using Mediation to Resolve Tax Disputes (5/10/13)
Rafal Morek
Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), a department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes, published the results of its pilot ADR project evaluation. It has been testing a new way of resolving tax disputes, with the SMEs and individual taxpayers, since 2011.

One Language and One Video at a Time (5/03/13)
Giuseppe Leone
Online mediation is becoming increasingly popular. Giuseppe Leone is hoping to build on this popularity by using Skype to give mediators practice at testing their dispute resolution skills. Mr. Leone also points out that viewing a mediation role play can alleviate some clients' fears of the unknown.

“The Process is the Punishment” (5/03/13)
Colin Rule
Court delays of as long as five years in felony cases have pushed the Bronx criminal courts into the bottom ranks of courts nationally, reaching what even the judges call crisis levels.

Effective Negotiations (5/03/13)
Phyllis Pollack
I know I may sound like a broken record as I have discussed each of these points several times before - but they are invaluable and make the difference between resolving a dispute and continuing the acrimony.

Mediation Case Law Video: Those All-Day Mediations -- Maybe We Should Reassess? (4/30/13)
James Coben
In the case In re Rains, the appellate court concluded that the bankruptcy court did not clearly err in finding a debtor mentally competent to enter into a mediated settlement, notwithstanding that immediately following the conclusion of mediation the debtor drove himself to the hospital where he was admitted and diagnosed with a cerebral aneurysm and stroke.

Managing Business Risk (4/26/13)
John Sturrock
Managing business risk can be done through effective negotiation and conflict management. Mediators can help to manage that business risk by nipping things in the bud – and resolving difficult disputes.

Developing an Online Mediation Practice (4/26/13)
Ben Davies
This article chronicles the observations and lessons learned of a mediator, new to both webcam communication and online mediations, during a series of simulated mediations with Virtual Mediation Labs (VML). Ben describes some of the problems he encountered during the simulations and the implementation of Skype into his practice and how instrumental the VML programme is to a prospective online mediator. The lessons learned in this article will enable a mediator to be aware of the fundamentals of online mediation and gives a brief synopsis of the commonest problems encountered during online mediation.

Four Elements of Forgiveness—50 Years Later (4/26/13)
Lorraine Segal
I read recently about a beautiful example of forgiveness for a wrong that happened 50 years before.

Resolving the Truth Between Two People in Conflict (4/22/13)
Ralph Kilmann
"There are three truths: My truth, your truth, and what really happened." But if we think of the possibilities for synergy (collaboration) of two people's versions of reality, maybe it would make it easier to realize that some truths are socially constructed anyway...so we might as well negotiate it into something useful and healing.

Is Collaborative Law Worth the Cost? (4/22/13)
Dick Price
For people facing divorce, a common question is whether Collaborative cases are "cheaper than litigation". While there is no way to compare a specific Collaborative case to an abstract idea of a litigated case, we can say that Collaborative Law will avoid a lot of the expense involved in litigation.

The Man Who Led Us To Yes (4/12/13)
Tony Dempsey
The recent death of US negotiation guru Roger Fisher reminds Tony Dempsey of old confrontations and lessons learned in how to achieve creative outcomes. As he learned from Roger Fisher, “parties should focus on their own interests and developing creative options that meet those interests."

Disputes: A Clash of Imperfect Ideas (4/12/13)
Cinnie Noble
It is common in the midst of conflict that we become more assertive about our perspective – especially when the other person is equally or more assertive about hers or his. One or both of us may push our viewpoints to the extent that things escalate and stronger feelings evolve – accompanied by even more push back. It is as though both of us are convinced and have to convince the other that our view is the perfect and correct one.

Is There Good and Bad Mediation Practice? (4/12/13)
Diane Cohen
Wow! I’ve been overwhelmed with work and haven’t posted in months. But I’m back now and thinking about the topic: Is there good and bad mediation practice?

The Mediation Trainer’s Toolbox (4/12/13)
Sabine Walsh
Having spent the last few weeks immersed in mediation theory, conflict theory, negotiation theory and a variety of other theories for various projects, including the preparation of a mediation training course, I feel the need for a little practicality.

Negotiation Tactics (4/12/13)
Phyllis Pollack
In some mediations, I have witnessed the “nibbling” approach: one party keeps making demands on top of demands, often very small ones, in an effort to get the other party to reach a breaking point and either cave in to the demands or storm out of the negotiation.

Negotiation in the Shadows: A Book Review of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg (4/09/13)
Robert Benjamin
Sheryl Sandberg is the current COO of Facebook. Her book is intended as a practical guide to the continuing challenge of overcoming the still elusive and unrealized goal of gender equality. She has all the necessary credentials to be a valuable spokesperson and to garner the outsized media attention the topic deserves. However, despite offering useful suggestions about how women can affirmatively assert themselves to be taken more seriously and obtain the positions of leadership they deserve, she fails to give any significant attention to the negotiation process and skills essential to realistically “lean in” and achieve those objectives.

A Narrative Approach to Business Partner Disputes (4/08/13)
Jeffrey Fink
To listen for the important issues, we should tune in to the emotional charge, to the repetition as the speaker rehearses well-worn arguments, and to particular phrases that might have resonance in a slightly different version of the story. If we ask the right questions based on those phrases, it may shunt the conversation onto different track, helping the partners construct a new story based on new or newly acknowledged information.

Preparing for Mediation: A Practical Guide to Opening Remarks (4/08/13)
Greg Stone
This article is the first Chapter of Greg Stone's new book Preparing for Mediation. This is a helpful guide for clients as it will provide vital information for mediation preparation.

The Winner’s Curse (4/08/13)
Phyllis Pollack
Suppose you have a jar of coins and ask several friends to bid on the jar. The highest bid will be deemed the winner. According to Richard H. Thaler two results will occur: “(1) the average bid will be significantly less than the value of the coins (bidders are risk adverse); (2) the winning bid will exceed the value of the jar”. This is known as the “winner’s curse”.

Martha Stewart Living Ordered to Mediate Dispute With Macy’s and J.C. Penney (4/08/13)
Beth Graham
Mediation is in the news again. Last week, a New York judge ordered a dispute between Macy’s, Inc., J.C. Penney Co., and Martha Stewart Living to mediation. The lawsuit itself reportedly arose after New York-based Martha Stewart Living signed a contract with Plano-based J.C. Penney to open a Martha Stewart mini shop in many of the retailer’s stores.

Who Took the 'Me' Out of Mediation? (4/01/13)
Deborah Rothman
I have witnessed the substantial trajectory of mediation's development from the time a handful of us presented lunchtime mediation trainings to groups of trial judges. At the time, mediation was still such a new concept that in some meetings we literally had to explain the difference between mediation and arbitration, and for years afterwards, many attorneys and judges still used the terms interchangeably. What I wonder is, Where is the Mediation field at now?

Negotiation: Body Language, Baselines, & Baloney (4/01/13)
Jeff Thompson
If you add up the little things in negotiation they can make a big difference. Next time you are involved in a negotiation, consider preparing first and make sure it includes setting your own goals, establishing their baseline, being away of their actions, and bring a partner along too.

The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back (3/29/13)
Cinnie Noble
I have used the expression “the straw that broke the camel’s back” or a similar idiom when referring to an incident that pushes an ongoing situation too far across a line of tolerance. I didn’t know the derivation of this particular expression and when I looked it up I found the meaning is consistent with this same notion.

Looking at E-mail Negotiations with the TKI Conflict Model (3/22/13)
Ralph Kilmann
There appears to be a rapid increase in the use of e-mail exchanges for resolving all kinds of personal and workplace conflicts. Instead of taking the extra time for phone calls, virtual meetings, or those old-fashioned face-to-face discussions, people are texting or e-mailing their concerns and solutions to one another.

Difficult Conversations (3/22/13)
Phyllis Pollack
A few weeks ago, I conducted a “lemon law” mediation. Over the past few months, most of these have been conducted by using separate sessions only; counsel have not wanted to participate in joint sessions. However, this time, plaintiff’s counsel wanted to hold a joint session. Defense counsel who had worked frequently with plaintiff’s counsel in the past and had a cordial relationship with plaintiff’s counsel, agreed.

Negotiating Beyond Agreement to Commitment (3/08/13)
John Wade
This article speculates on rates of non-performance of different types of agreements; then sets out reasons for breach; and finally suggests a catalogue of methods to increase the durability of or commitment to negotiated agreements.

Culture & Gender Issues in Negotiation & Mediation (video) (2/28/13)
Nina Meierding
This is a video sample from Nina Meierding's seven-hour online course on Culture & Gender Issues in Negotiation & Mediation. Go to Mediate.com University to review this couse and other continuing education opportunities.

Review of Picture It Settled® Software for Negotiation (2/26/13)
Will Pryor
As a lawyer, a district judge and now as a mediator for many years now, I have always sought out useful technology tools to make the process work better. I have seen parties use static Excel spreadsheets and midpoint analysis to try to project settlement numbers, but the negotiation process is much more sophisticated than that.

Conversations Leading Lord Grantham to Agreement (2/22/13)
Victoria Pynchon
If you think the 20th century’s teen years look an awful lot like those of the 21st – massive technological change and fault lines breaking open between the one and the 99% – you’re quite right. In the most recent season of the rare PBS hit, Downton Abbey the British aristocracy is reeling from post-World War I modernization.

Freedom and Peace of Mind After Conflict (2/22/13)
Tammy Lenski
I’m disillusioned with terms like “conflict management” and “conflict resolution,” though I continue to use them. I use them because I haven’t yet found an optimal replacement.

Burnout in Healthcare (2/22/13)
Holly Hayes
Health care has always been a stressful profession. Think high-stakes work, too many patients, overwhelmed employees. It all adds up to lots of potential conflict, and that’s bad news for patient care, safety, and satisfaction. Now, throw health reform changes linking reimbursement to quality and patient perception of care metrics into the mix and the implications are clear: Managers must help employees handle conflicts productively. If not, the organization may not survive.

Standing on the Shoulders of a Visionary (2/08/13)
Jacques Joubert
The article is about Mary Parker Follet’s convergence of dispute resolution, organisational development and leadership concepts. Follet integrated the idea of organisational conflict into management theory and is sometimes considered the "mother of conflict resolution." Peter Drucker called her the “prophet of management.” Drucker himself is acknowledged as a pioneer in organisational development and modern management thinking.

Resist the Temptation to Negotiate too Soon (2/08/13)
Jan Frankel Schau
Participants in mediation usually know how it ends: there is a negotiation and one party agrees to pay money to the other. So why not get right to it?

It's Just As Hard To Be Ken As It Is To Be Barbie (2/08/13)
Victoria Pynchon
Preparing for a presentation on negotiation and gender for 250 tax attorneys and their clients later this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways in which men’s stereotypic gender roles make them worse negotiators than women.

Keys to Mediator Success: Negotiation and Caucus (2/01/13)
Dudley Braun
This article gives tips for mediators when they are in the negotiation and caucus phase of a mediation. There are over a hundred helpful phrases, designed to represent a variety of mediator personalities and mediation issues.

Hydropower Conflicts in Southern Chile (2/01/13)
Larry Susskind
Chile is now relying on hydropower to support its amazing economic growth. It is a country without oil, gas or coal reserves of its own. Liquified natural gas (LNG) and coal imports are being increased, and there is some talk of expanding non-conventional renewable resources, but hydro represents at least 35% of the current energy mix and is likely to grow.