Featured Blogs Section
Featured Blog Posts
Conversation, Kindness, and Democracy
Are kindness and conversation still possible? What about the many other people who share a perspective with those folks and are not themselves violent?
Start 2021 with Apology and Forgiveness!
It struck me that as we start 2021, perhaps it is a good time to “turn over a new leaf” by apologizing for our acts and/or omissions and forgiving others for their acts/omissions committed in 2020.
Cyclical Nature of Interpersonal Conflict
When talking about domestic violence, you often hear about the cycle of abuse.
Beyond Civil Rights: The Case for Enforcement of Harassment Laws as a Means to Deter Racially Based Confrontations
As a JAMS mediator, I believe that one of the best ways to assist parties to resolve a dispute is to educate them about the risks they run in continuing the confrontation.
Make Yourself Aware About Divorce Mediation
You might be thinking that you don’t need to make yourself aware about anything divorce related because it’s not going to happen to you.
Love’s New Mediation Data: Whither the Joint Session?
Mediation, Love says, “is the last bastion,” with mediators trained to promote dialogue.
Divorce Noise
It’s so normal for us to ask questions and want information from those who have already been through this overwhelming time in our lives.
The End Game
Deciding to divorce is likely going to be the biggest decision of your life, bigger than even deciding to get married in the first place, and how you choose to proceed will make all the difference.
Landscape of Dispute Resolution
When you hear about the word landscape of dispute resolution, the first thing that comes to the mind of the people is litigation before a court of competent jurisdiction. However, the parties need to be made aware that the landscape of dispute resolution is wider. It includes along with litigation, arbitration and mediation.
How to AVOID Conflict Gracefully
If you’re good at selective conflict avoidance, you will have a greater sense of order and control in your life.
Authenticity in Conflict
Many times in tense situations there is a strong desire to minimize the conflict.
[PODCAST] Reflecting on Nine Months of Virtual ADR
A special podcast from JAMS featuring neutrals Adrienne Publicover and David Ross on their experiences and lessons learned since shifting to virtual mediations.
Mediation Confidentiality in Federal Court
As a consequence of the absence of uniform adoption of the Uniform Mediation Act, the confidentiality of mediation communications in various jurisdictions often cannot be assured.
Ideas for Teaching Mediation and Negotiation
This article is prompted by my conversation with a really good, experienced colleague who is revising his mediation course.
Ultimatums in Conflict Resolution
Empty threats in dispute resolution change nothing.
Personality Matters!
This post discusses interesting ramifications of personalities, such as two individuals who are each “disagreeable” tend to get along the best.
Collaboration is the Future
Lawyers love conflict. They thrive on it. If anyone can coexist with conflict, it’s a lawyer.
Resolving Cognitive Conflict in the Workplace
When two people are tasked to complete a project together, they may not always agree on how to get it done.
When the Cure is Worse Than the Disease: Civil liberties Under Attack
As COVID concerns spread, conditioning from the media and celebrities talking about how everyone needed to comply with random, and often contradictory orders began to make the rounds of TV and social media.
Anti-Vaxxers and the New Workplace Divisions
With a clear divide between the ‘anti-vaxxers’ and the rest, what happens to day-to-day employee relations and attempts to return to normal office routines and face-to-face meetings?
Start with “Hello” to Manage Conflict
Recently, I did a consultation with two long-term employees who had periodic flare ups of conflict. Here are some of the suggestions I gave the owner.
As Higher Education Contemplates Its Future, New Solutions Are Needed: Facilitation Is One of Them
As a full-time tenured professor for 25 years and an instructor for more than 10, respectively, we have seen firsthand the heroic efforts of academics and administrators to handle the myriad and complex problems facing higher education.
Empty Threats Change Nothing
Ultimatums are usually born out of extreme frustration from a lack of agreement on specific issues.
Healing and Civility – What Mediation can Teach Us About Bridging Social Divides
Even after the election results are finalized and the new President inaugurated, one thing will remain unresolved – the deep divide within the nation that the campaigns for the presidency confirmed.
Concepts that Can Help Practitioners Help Parties Make Decisions in Disputes
My main premise is that our dispute resolution community fundamentally is about helping people make decisions about processes, procedures, and issues in managing their conflicts.
Resolving Cognitive Conflict in the Workplace
When two people are tasked to complete a project together, they may not always agree on how to get it done.
Entrenched Views Make Resolution Tricky
The word Entrenched calls to mind war zones with soldiers dug into trenches to protect themselves and still be able to fire upon the enemy.
The Importance of Flexibility, Creativity, and Being Prepared!
Recently, I conducted two mediations that revealed the importance of flexibility, creativity, and being prepared.
Confidentiality – Seamless or a Thing of Shreds and Patches?
What happens at a mediation stays in the mediation (except so far as necessary for enforcement of the settlement). So mediators are taught and so they inform the parties.
Objectivity is Imperative
Most conflicts are dealt with successfully by the individuals involved without outside help.
Research Looks at Meaningful Ways to Promote Intergroup Contact
This article evaluates the study looking at why intergroup contact occurs; while much research is devoted to the benefits of intergroup contact, the authors here decided to look into why some might avoid intergroup contact, and how we might encourage intergroup contact to then reap those benefits.
Take Charge Gracefully
Sometimes you have to be tough and pushy in conflict. You will end up being irresponsible in certain roles, like parenting and some forms of leadership, if you are not able to do this.
ADR Options
ADR can take place in so many different forms such as mediation, arbitration, negotiation, to name but a few and there are so many different techniques you can use, with the assistance of a third party, in order to ensure a successful outcome.
ODR and Virtual Mediation: High Conflict People in Online Mediation
Now that online mediation has become normalized, how have mediators handled the shift? How does in-person mediation differ from online mediation and what have mediators done to capitalize on those differences to excel in virtual mediations? What is the future of online dispute resolution (ODR) and virtual mediation? This article focuses on the aspects of dealing with High Conflict Personalities when in an online mediation process.
Let’s Settle This Online
The benefits of online mediation for personal injury disputes. Much attention has been given to online mediation, in addition to other types of online dispute resolution (ODR), as it has seen widespread acceptance as of late due to restrictions on in-person gatherings. Is that acceptance forced in light of the need to keep claims moving forward with no viable alternative, or are parties finding that online mediation may, in fact, be preferable to face-to-face in some cases?