Featured Blogs Section
Featured Blog Posts
Preparing the Next Generation of Professors of Environmental Studies
This article identifies four approaches to environmental policy-making or problem-solving.
Does Your Work Culture Promote Psychological Safety?
Psychological safety is an important element in successful, productive work cultures. So what does that look like?
Paul M. Lurie on Guided Mediation
Guided Mediation is a collection of best practices and tools in actual use that increase mediation efficiency, get earlier settlements, reduce legal and consultants’ fees, and minimize business disruption.
5 Smart Financial Tips to Plan a Divorce
It can be easy to get so wrapped up in the details of the present you forget about what is next. Do not make that mistake!
International Patent Litigation and Mediation
As many of you may know, mediation is not used as often as it should be to resolve international patent litigation. But is this also the case within the industry?
How you Approach a Disagreement Matters
Separation is challenging; going through a separation during a pandemic can be more challenging.
Finding a Remedy When in Conflict
“Don’t find fault. Find a remedy.” (Henry Ford) While Henry Ford’s quote might well apply to making cars and running a business, it also has application to our interpersonal disputes when one of the common things many of us do is find fault with the other person.
Mediation Confidentiality: Misconceptions, Pitfalls, and Best Practices
CPR’s Mediation Committee presented Los Angeles mediator Jeff Kichaven on the limits of mediation confidentiality at a March 16 online program that provided attendees with cutting-edge and occasionally controversial practice guidance on confidentiality, and avoiding neutrals’ liability disclaimers, as well as ethics continuing legal education credits.
Reflection as a Manifestation of Recognition Beyond Relational Weakness and Self-Absorption
While debriefing immediately after a co-mediation, an interesting question arose: “Does a reflection always have the same function regardless of the context?”
Sometimes the Answer is "No"
Mediation is often considered the best option to work out a conflict and salvage a relationship.
Trust and Rapport - ODR Style!
One of the most important things a mediator must do- if not the most important- is to build trust and rapport with the parties. In pre-Covid days, this was a bit easier; the mediator could sit face to face with each party and schmooze.
Virtual v. In-Person Hearings in a COVID World and Beyond
Prior to the pandemic, virtual hearings for labor-management arbitration and mediation were rarely used but since its start and acceleration, virtual platforms are now the dominant forums for arbitrations and mediations. Will the adoption of virtual interactions continue after the pandemic or will in-person approaches return?
The Relevance of Mediation in the Modern Workplace
Disagreements are a part of human nature. As long as people exhibit diverse traits stemming from different experiences, their opinions will differ.
[PODCAST] ADR can be a “Win-Win” Solution for In-House Counsel
In this podcast, Laura highlights how a well-crafted clause can be essential for an organization in achieving fair, resource-efficient outcomes, especially as courts continue to face backlogs.
The Power of Gratitude
Why do you think so many people do not feel gratitude? How would you articulate why a simple emotion can be so elusive?
ADR & Activism Through Art - Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo
This article focuses on creativity and negotiation role models.
The Muddy Time
Some of us call it the muddy time. It’s the time in between the decision to divorce and when the actual divorce is made final.
Drafting Mediated Workplace Agreements
To enhance communication flow and joint involvement in certain decision-making areas, agreements need to be well planned-out.
How to Manage In-Laws Post Divorce
When I got married, I found that one of the strangest transitions wasn’t to being newlyweds or calling him my husband but was more related to my new in-laws. I think that often in-laws, especially mothers-in-law, have gotten a bad rap in popular culture.
How Mediation Can Make Divorce Easier on Your Family
Getting divorced can take just as big of a toll on the kids as it does the adults involved. Fortunately, divorcing parents can help to mitigate the negative impacts of divorce on the entire family in a few key ways, namely with mediation. Learn how mediation can work for your family here.
Helping Kids Adjust to Life When Parents Go Through Divorce
If you are going through a divorce, one of the most significant concerns you may have is the effect it has on your children.
A Short Story: How My Friend Destroyed Their Bullies
When a friend told me how he overcame a bully, my curiosity peaked, and I asked him to show me how he defused a situation like that.
ODR Survey--Your response requested
James Claxton is requesting your response to his ODR survey.
Managing Expectations to Avoid Conflict
Expectations are part of living as a human being. If we are in a relationship, we expect to be treated a certain way.
One Year Later: Zoom Fatigue
Almost one year ago, life for most of us changed irrevocably: we went from commuting to and from our offices and fighting traffic to commuting between our bedrooms and “home” offices and fighting over internet access.
Annoy the Mediator at Your Own Risk: Negotiation Tactics and Missteps to Avoid, Part 2
In this post, I explore more aggravating, and avoidable, behaviors that may upset or undermine the mediator and the mediation process.
Be Open like Oprah and Candid like Chrissy
This article discusses the framing piece of how you talk and what makes people want to listen.
Don't Look Where You Fall
“I’ve learned so much from my mistakes. I’m thinking about making a few more.”
Peace is Possible
This is a haiku supporting the workers in Hungary as they work toward establishing peace.
After Lockdown, Businesses will Need to be More Human Than Ever
Working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for organizations to demonstrate their emotional qualities.
For Family Cases Involving Reports of Intimate Partner Violence, Shuttle and Videoconference Mediation Are Safe, Effective and Preferred by Parents
In a randomized controlled trial of family cases involving parents reporting high levels of intimate partner violence (IPV), parents felt safer in and were more satisfied with shuttle and videoconference mediation than litigation.
Have Empathy like Eleanor (and be Perceptive like Princess Diana)
My next examples of negotiation skills come straight from the pandemic–and by that I mean watching television for hours during the pandemic!
CPRAM21: Committing to More Diversity in ADR
If you missed the 2021 CPR Annual Meeting in January—the first free public meeting held online in the organization’s 40-year history—the videos are being posted on CPR’s YouTube Channel.
Line in the Sand
You have likely heard the metaphor about drawing a line in the sand, and might have used it yourself to set boundaries.
Using Mediation to Develop a Prenup that Satisfies Both Parties
My last mediation of 2020 was for a prenuptial agreement, and to me it was kind of a sign of hope for the year to come.