Blog
Play the Player, Not Just the Game
The Boston Celtics in the 1980s Were Magic For those of you who could give a rat’s arse about sports analogies, I apologize. In the 1980s, I spent more time in after-school detention and playing basketball than I did doing homework. The popular refrain from my guidance counselor during that era was “Graceffa, you’re a…
Science Claims Adding A Sprinkle of Hostility To Dispute Resolution Helps. I Beg To Disagree.
The well-respected publication Scientific American (“SA”) released an article titled “Why Hostility Can Bring People Closer Together – The Surprising Power of Hostile Mediators.” At first glance I thought I was reading an article from the infamous publication The Onion that often prints false and ridiculous stories such as one I saw recently headlined “Judge…
“I hate you!”
If you have raised or lived with a teenager at any point in your life, you may have had this missive hurled at you once or twice. If you are on your way to raising or living with a teenager, strap in, it’s coming. Children expect their parents (and life for that matter) to be…
The path to homeownership in minority communities can be long and bumpy, but those creatively finding their way are to be respected all the same.
Most if not all of us have suffered through an episode of a reality TV show where a teenager’s very wealthy parents hand their son or daughter the keys to a brand new, $90,000 Range Rover on their 16th birthday. The lucky teenager runs out the mansion’s front door to find a sparkly, luxury SUV…
Early Neutral Evaluation
Early Neutral Evaluation is a process where a skilled neutral is engaged early on in a case where battles are waging or starting to wage but has not turned into a full-blown war, yet is clearly heading that direction. The War of the Roses is a 1989 film starring Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito and Kathleen Turner…
Top 5 Ways to Tank your Mediation
#5 Failing To Prepare Your Client For Mediation #4 Communicating A Monetary Demand For The First Time In A Late Brief #3 Submitting A Late Brief With Hundreds Of Pages Of Documents Attached #2 Seeking Monetary Damages With No Estimates, Invoices Or Reports #1 Act As If You Are Trying Your Case At Mediation Instead…
When A War of the Roses Breaks Out, Consider Early Neutral Evaluation
When War Breaks Out. The War of the Roses is a 1989 film starring Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito and Kathleen Turner that satirizes the herculean battle that erupts when a seemingly happy couple’s marriage begins to crumble. As the couple’s relationship devolves, material possessions become the center of an outrageous and bitter fight. In the…
Flying By The Seat Of Your Pants Isn’t A Strategy To Settle A Case
Why It’s Your Problem If Your Opposing Counsel Is Using This Tactic Anyone receiving this email from me generally isn’t in the category of the “attorney who flies by the seat of their pants.” However, we all have had opposing counsel who seem to make a living by doing this. I see these kinds of…
Impasses In Mediations Happen For All Kinds of Reasons
Impasses Happen For Good Reason. Impasses in mediation happen for all sorts of reasons. Two common reasons that I see are one, that people aren’t ready to mediate (either in spirit or in fact) or that two, the parties are under the impression that justice or a win in front of a trier of fact…
The Animalistic, Unreliable and Irrational Beast
Good Things and Good Riddance to 2020. Despite the dumpster fire that was 2020, it was encouraging to see so many people resolve their disputes through mediation in that year. There was a large influx of people using mediation as a tool to resolve disputes. There was also a lot of civility between the parties,…
CAR Mediator Spotlight:
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