Scott Van Soye 
What happens when you compromise during a negotiation? The Latin root of the word “compromise” meant consent to arbitration. The English definition has drifted far from that original meaning. In modern English, it means sacrificing something desired or accepting a disadvantage in order to reach an agreement or gain a benefit. It is an …
If you pay attention to books and movies, you come away with the distinct impression that a jury trial is the pinnacle of the lawyer’s art and the thing that they train for and look forward to most. Everyone loves a good courtroom drama. Certainly, legal education in the United States is focused on turning …
Mediation and law practice are not the same thing. The law is an essentially adversarial system that tends to drive people apart and pick a winner. In contrast, mediation is a cooperative process aimed at drawing disputants together…
Many people have gone through, or at least heard of, divorce mediation. In that process, parties try to reach agreement about the division of property, spousal and child support, custody and visitation. Of course it doesn’t solve everything. All of these ideas are fairly familiar.
According to a study by Steele and Nimmer, the top two concerns that clients have about their attorneys are that fees are too high, and that performance is delayed. Perhaps because of this, the California Legislature passed laws in 1978 requiring that the State Bar establish a fee arbitration program. It may also establish a …
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines “litigate” (from 17th Century Latin litigat, meaning “disputed in a lawsuit,” as “verb… take (a claim or a dispute) to a court of law.” Interestingly, the OED’s compilers chose this sentence as an example of proper usage of the word “Litigate”: “even a claim which is litigated and defended successfully involves high …
What are the chances of winning arbitration? What does it mean to win in arbitration? Let’s dive right in! If you are going to arbitration, you may wonder what your chances of winning are. Before we answer this question, we need to define what winning means. After all, someone wins in a completed arbitration. Sometimes …
What is open-end communication? Not surprisingly, our style of communication affects how others interact with and perceive us, as well as what kind of information we can gather. During any conversation, questions are asked, and answers are given to: Clarify. Obtain information. Bring someone into a conversation. Keep a conversation going Experts on leadership, relationships, …
Conflict is an inevitable part of life. It will be present wherever there is social interaction. We compete and conflict over scarce resources, perceived insults, and in the search for dominance. But not everyone deals with conflict in the same way. There are five basic styles of conflict management. They are: Competition — The pursuit of …
By Scott C. Van Soye People often think of divorce as the end of a relationship between spouses. In some cases, it may be. But the reality is that where there are minor children from the marriage, a relationship—though changed—endures until the youngest child reaches adulthood. Learning to deal with this new reality is a …
