Featured Blogs Section
Featured Blog Posts
Managing and Resolving Conflicts in Remote Teams
Handling remote teams can become quite a challenging task at times, especially when a conflict arises.
What Commercial Trial Lawyers Can Learn from Transactional Lawyers About Mediation
Why should we be surprised by litigators acting like litigators whether in court or in mediation?
What Would *You* Have Done?
What would you have done, if you were a violence prevention specialists?
Recognizing Common Internal Issues That Often Escalate Into Disputes and How ADR Can Help
Here are a few examples of the tensions that arise across financial, operational, and commercial agreements.
Difficult People
One of the first questions a mediator must ask herself is whether she should take a specific case?
What are the Qualities of a Good Mediator? - video
Have you ever asked yourself, what are the qualities of a good mediator?
ERRR On the Human Side of Mediation Encompassing Empowerment, Recognition, Reflection and Respect
This article is an open invitation to the Opposing Party.
What I'm Reading
Being retired from teaching and faculty meetings leaves time to do other things. Here are the books I've been enjoying.
Bellwether Mediations As An Alternative To Bellwether Trials
Conceptually, the goal of bellwether mediations is the same as that of its counterpart (a trial): to develop an objective way to value a disparate set of cases to facilitate settlement.
“My Story” Featuring Cristina Pereyra-Alvarez, Retired Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit, Florida
When asked what advice she has for the next generation of ADR professionals, Mrs. Pereyra-Alvarez says, "Always go in with an open mind. Always believe that you are going to resolve the case, no matter what." This is a biography of her career path.
The New Plan for the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters
Helping People Become Special Masters and Special Masters Assist the Administration of Justice: The New Plan for the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters.
Bring Five Percent more Compassion to Conflicts
Bringing five percent more compassion can really make a difference in conflicts.
The Mediator as a Choice Architect
One of the most important aspects of mediation is self-determination. Standard 1 of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediation is entitled “Self-Determination.”
Divorce Done Differently!
As soon as you begin to contemplate divorce, the nauseating, panic-attack-inducing realization of losing half of your net worth kicks in and you find yourself wondering if it’s even worth it to consider leaving if you’re just going to end up broke and starving. Mediation may not even be an option in your mind, but it should be.
"Never Ruin an Apology with an Excuse"
This quote by Kimberly Johnson is a good one to consider when it comes to asking forgiveness, giving an apology, and otherwise trying to make amends.
Ronald Melin Supancic - A Memorial
Each breath we breathe is an invitation to live more fully, more consciously, more attentive, and more aware.
Q&A with Hon. Irma E. Gonzalez (Ret.)
Judge Irma Gonzalez has spent the last eight years at JAMS as a mediator, arbitrator, special master/referee and neutral evaluator. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we spoke with Judge Gonzalez about how she started in ADR, her accomplishments, the challenges that she’s faced and her advice to younger generations.
Eight Tips for Mediating High-Profile Construction Disputes
Large-scale global construction disputes often present a complicated mix of factors, such as publicity-associated risks, government oversight, huge project size, a large number of implicated parties and momentous damage issues.
Preparing and Paying for QDROs in Divorce
The responsibilities of a plan administrator include reviewing QDROs or DROs and then distributing the funds to the non-plan participant spouse once they have approved the order--which become difficult in a separation.
Conflict in the Workplace – Mediation Can Make Your Team More Efficient
Conflict in the workplace is inevitable when people with different values and opinions come together.
Don’t Chalk My Tires, Or Why Mediation is Not Appropriate
This discussion exemplifies one of those very few circumstances in which mediation may not be appropriate because a public policy is at stake.
High-Tech Dispute Resolution
In this scholarly work, the authors examine the intersection of online dispute resolution and psychology.
Tips for Addressing Childhood Conflict
These are steps for teaching your children to reduce childhood conflict.
Yes and No are Powerful Words
Yes and No are powerful words. What impact does saying each of them have on your body and nervous system?
Mental Health First Aid Training May Make Our Community Happier and Healthier!
“Many people with mental illness are reluctant to seek help or know where to turn for care, while their friends and family members may struggle to know when and how to help,” said Dr. Rotenberg.
How Do You Define “Ethics?”
"For centuries, we have shared common expectations of how we behave ethically in society, based largely on a mutual understanding of the reality in which our decisions play out. These underlying expectations have come to be guided by three pillars."
How to Resolve a Dispute with Someone Who Doesn't Know Your Language
As the international business environment is quickly expanding, companies are merging and are therefore helping create a global workplace setting.
[Podcast] Where Does the Insurance Industry Sit Now on Racial Issues?
In a recent episode of Insurance Business Talk, JAMS neutral Rebekah Ratliff speaks with host Paul Lucas on her experience as a Black woman in the insurance industry and where the industry is now in terms of issues relating to gender and race.
Who Wears the Pants in Your Family?
So much has changed! When I was growing up, the expectation for middle-class marriages (which were always between women and men) was that it was the man’s job to earn enough money to support the family, and it was the woman’s job was to have children and to contribute to the economy by spending money.
To Solve a Problem at Work–Ask; Don’t Assume
When you ask and don’t assume you already know the answers, you’re likely to find better solutions to workplace problems.
Mediating (and Settling) Real Property Cases
Just as there are a myriad of real property interests, there can be disputes involving any of those interests.
Making Ethical Decisions
Despite the complexity of ethical issues, Ms. Liautaud has formula for making an ethical decision quite simple.
Vulnerability for the WIN!
Vulnerability as quoted from THE vulnerability researcher Brene Brown “is not winning or losing, it’s having the courage to show up even when you can’t control the outcome”.
When the World is Too Much, How to Release Overwhelm with Resonance
What happens in our brains and bodies when life -- and conflict -- feels like too much for us?