Featured Blogs Section
Featured Blog Posts
Have Faith in Another’s Honesty!
In any given mediation, I am often asked whether I think the other party is telling the “truth”, can she be “trusted”?
Worry About Hornets
On September 11, 2019, President Trump warned about what America would do if attacked again.
RSI Publishes Report on Improving Pre-Mediation Screening for Intimate Partner Violence through Proposed Online Tool
Over the past year, RSI has been working on a project researching and exploring whether and how an online tool could improve the frequency and competency with which mediators screen for intimate partner violence (IPV) prior to mediation.
People are Like Icebergs
The iceberg principle states that while you may see the tip of an iceberg (usually about 1/10th of it), the vast majority of it (9/10ths) is deep beneath the water, hidden from view.
Montana Nursing Homes and Families Receive Assistance to Resolve Disputes
Montana Mediation Association (MtMA) received a Civil Monetary Penalty Reinvestment Grant to prevent and delay resident discharges from Montana Nursing Homes.
Suggestions for Team Leaders
Whether you’ve just received your first team leadership assignment or have been doing this for a while, it can be helpful to remind yourself – or become aware of – some guidelines for team leaders that can make your job easier.
Ninth Circuit, Overturning an Award, Backs More Arbitrator Disclosure
The Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals ruled this week that arbitrators are required to disclose their ownership interests in the organizations they are affiliated with and the organizations’ business dealings with the arbitration parties.
Conflict: Getting In Our Own Way
It happens, at times, that we get in our own way when a conflict erupts or is about to.
Can We Ever Deal With Unconscious Bias?
Having mature, self-aware conversations takes a good level of skills – what we call Conversational Intelligence.
California’s Yolo Superior Court Launches New Online Dispute Resolution Program
California’s Yolo County Superior Court has launched a new online dispute resolution (ODR) program to resolve debt and money due cases.
Mediators in Arbitration
In her book chapter, Professor Nolan-Haley examines the role of mediation in today’s transnational dispute system with a special focus on the convergence of arbitration and mediation.
Feelings and Conflict at Work
Being prepared for feelings at work helps us to deal with them, instead of letting them escalate.
New California Law Prohibits Pre-Dispute Employment Arbitration Agreements
California last week enacted a new law that prohibits employers from requiring job applicants, or any existing employee, to enter into pre-dispute arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.
I’m Sorry ... There is nothing that could justify what happened on Saturday morning, nothing
This is the latest in what seems an unending stream of tragic officer involved shootings and killings of people of color in Texas and around the country.
The Reality of Impasse: Show me the money!
It is funny how sometimes the stars align to suddenly highlight an issue that was nowhere in my conscious brain before then.
Mandatory Minimums and Plea Bargaining
Is one of the problems with mandatory minimums is that they make police misconduct more difficult to manage?
The Anchoring Effect
The anchoring effect is a form of bias in favor of the first piece of information we hear during a negotiation, often the other person’s goal.
7 Benefits of Mediation Programs in Higher Education Institutions
There are many forms of mediation and environments in which they occur, but a place that proves extremely beneficial for mediation takes place in an educational setting.
It Ain’t My Fault: How Best to Manage Workplace Conflict
Workplace conflicts sometimes make me think of a song by the country-music duo Brothers Osborne called “It Ain’t My Fault.”
Changing the Way I Handle Verbal Attacks
One of my personal challenges is how to deflect and master my in-the-moment reactions to verbal attacks.
Transforming the Healer-I
How can we assist the healing of a broken world when we ourselves are far from healed?
Trucking Company Will Pay $22,500 and Make Policy Changes to Settle Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Transport America was fined $22,500 and they will need to make changes to their policy on service animals.
Choose the Road Less Traveled in Conflict
Are you stuck in a rut in your relationship with someone?
The Good and Bad of Anger in Negotiation!
I wonder whether the use of anger in negotiations is helpful or harmful.
Trust At Work
Brush up on your workplace conflict resolution skills--and build up some trust in your employees.
WorkPeace: Get Curious
If you work in Human Resources or manage employees then you will no doubt be involved with resolving conflict at your workplace.
Sometimes, It Pays to Pretend Anger!
Mediation is a voluntary process in which each party is to make her own uncoerced decision.
Talking About Conflict
Why would team members want to discuss a sensitive member with someone they don't know?
Culture Differences
During a recent discussion of ethics, I asked whether it would be proper to hide information.
Characteristics of Quality Court ADR Programs
What characteristics do you think are shared by quality court ADR programs? I took a swing at a list here. What would you add? Change?
Mediation Approaches: We Don’t Have Science, So Let’s Have Principles
The research on mediation approaches shows a connection between transformative methods and the best outcomes on all levels.
US Appeals Court in “Manifest Disregard” Claim Instructs Arbitrator to Clarify “Irreconcilable Determinations”
I draw to your attention an interesting recent approach from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit towards an argument that an arbitration award should be set aside for manifest disregard of the law.
Arbitration in India
In this research paper I will analyze and comment on India’s arbitration and jurisprudence from pre-colonization to post-colonization in 1947. In Part I, I will briefly discuss the goal and purpose of arbitration, for those who are unfamiliar with them, and I will delve into the history of India’s arbitration, including the major legislative acts and arbitration institutions.
A Dent in the Universe
What have we learned from the mediators working tirelessly to promote the institutional and cultural changes necessary to implement mediation within their home countries?