Nevada Mediation Center

The Clash of the Titans: Getting the Best Results in Mediation when Cooperative Negotiator meets Competitive One
Jan Frankel Schau
California lawyers are now being routinely trained in the benefits of a win/win approach to negotiation by “expanding the pie”. However, the culture of cooperation is often confronted with a more competitive approach in mediation of litigated cases. This article will offer strategies for breaking the impasse this clash of styles presents in mediation as well as offer concrete strategies for litigators to adjust their own styles and thereby maximize their clients’ results.

Working Together after Divorce – The Mediated Road to Success
Rikk Larsen, Blair Trippe
The world of divorce is a place with an infinite number of stories that play out as a short list of common themes. The biggies: the well being of the children, how to divide assets, who gets the marital home and the complications of a parenting plan. We also know that divorces are rarely the end of the relationship in the sense that once they are final you never have, or need to have, contact with the other party again.

An Alternative Approach to Negotiation and Mediation Planning
Manie Spoelstra
It is often of concern for individuals involved in the training and practise of mediation and negotiation to witness how negotiators (even after being trained for several days) still get bogged down in issues that are ‘trivial’ to the central objective or frame.

Unlearning And Learning From Freud For Negotiated Solutions
Luis Miguel Diaz
This essay is inspired by Sigmund Freud’s persuasive, imaginative and enigmatic writings on mental processes and their meanings. He was the founder of psychoanalysis and is psychology's most famous author. The relevance of Freud’s work is even manifested in popular language which has incorporated expressions that he coined such as “mechanisms of defense” and “Oedipus Complex.” The significance of his legacy remains disputed.

Rule 68 and Offers of Judgment, Part I: How They Work and Why You Should Care
John DeGroote
I once had a client tell me: “I’m in the outsourcing business, not the litigation business.” He would probably read the title to this post and say something like: “I’m a client. Why do I care about rule anything?” Whether you are a client or a lawyer involved in US litigation, Rule 68 and similar state rules are important to you for two reasons: they can get cases resolved when nothing else can, and few lawyers use them effectively.

Improvisational Negotiation: Moving Away from Conventional Wisdom
Improvisational Negotiation represents a particular mind-set and approach to negotiation that is flexible and adaptable to a fluid set of circumstances. In the Improvisational Negotiation realm, there are no steadfast rules, grids, or specific definitions that must be adhered to. Rather, the success of this technique stems from the willingness to replace the traditional “one size fits all” textbook approach with a style that focuses on the moment and is based on creativity, acceptance of uncertainty and willingness to take risk.

Taxi: Heaven For Mediation
Luis Miguel Diaz
Taxi is a small and little known society on Earth where humans unlearned the belief that authorities and rules were necessary for conflict resolution. Roberta who is an old and attractive woman has an informal and straight forward conversation with Ivan a young and inquisitive man. Both are open minded people.

What Negotiators Ought To Know About Why People Do What They Do – A Review Of The Science of Settlement – Ideas for Negotiators
Stuart M. Israel
Barry’s book is practical, accessible and readable, and unique. It also is fun and funny. It will help you become a better negotiator.

13 Tools for Resolving Conflict in the Workplace, with Customers and in Life
Lee Jay Berman
Conflict happens. It is inevitable. It is going to happen whenever you have people with different expectations. Here are some tools for avoiding and resolving disputes in the early stages, before they become full-blown conflicts.

Through Jazz, Bringing Mediation 'Fresh To Life'
Greg Katz
One day last week, a jazz trio let loose before a rapt audience with an improvised performance of Jerome Kern's 1933 standard, "Yesterdays."

Why Getting To Yes Is the Most Vital Journey We Face
John Sturrock
GETTING to Yes is the seminal work on negotiation by Fisher and Ury. First published in 1983, it has been read by millions of business people, diplomats, lawyers and others around the world and is standard fare in universities in the United States and elsewhere. Recently, General Sumbeiywo, the man at the centre of the Southern Sudanese peace agreement, was asked what one book he would recommend to negotiators. Getting to Yes was his swift reply.

The Influence Of Culture On Negotiations In South Africa: An Attempt To Promote International Collaborative Dialogue And Research
Sharron K. Jenkins, Judy Rashid
In August 2007, two faculty persons traveled to South Africa to establish collaboration in the development of AIDS Online International (AOI), developed by Dr. Jenkins for college students in AIDS education, prevention, and behavioral research. This article describes the project and how culture influenced the negotiating practices and styles of the participants.

The Dirty, Risky Business of Negotiation: Ideology and the Risk of Appeasement
Robert Benjamin
Fighting has the edge over negotiation as the first inclination of most people when faced with conflict. Our human brain chemistry lubricates the preference for warfare and the use of force, while negotiation, by contrast, requires a willed, determined and conscious effort.

So You’ve Got a Beef. Now What?
Gary Weiner
Negotiating a good resolution to a conflict isn’t rocket science. There are a few things, though, that you should know if you want to do a better job in settling disputes on your own.

Pele: An Inspiration For Teamwork In Negotiated Solutions
Luis Miguel Diaz
Team work lies beneath negotiated solutions of complex problems. This article focuses on Pele who is regarded as the greatest soccer player of all times. No team sport evokes the intuitive drive for team work as soccer, where all eleven players of a team must cooperate. Soccer requires improvisation from the players to solve the strategic necessities of the soccer field. Can we learn from Pele processes for team work?