Confusing Dispute Resolution Jargon

Confusing Dispute Resolution Jargon

In response to my question, “Do you use “BATNA” wrong?,” I plead guilty with an explanation. With the patient teaching of my friends, Hiro Aragaki and Sanda Kaufman, I have come to see the error of my ways. I was concerned because BATNA – the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement – has become part of the vernacular, …

Read more

Overcoming Reluctance With Trauma Victims

Trauma Victims: Overcoming Reluctance

I. INTRODUCTION Traumatic experiences become a part of an individual forever.  At a domestic level, clients may have traumatic experiences like rape, domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse.  At an international level, clients are often the victim of human rights abuses ranging from genocide to war crimes.  These individual have stories that may remain …

Read more

Strategic Questions For Dispute Resolvers

Strategic Questions For Dispute Resolvers

Asking questions is one of the most powerful – and often misused – tools for professionals in dispute resolution settings, whether legal, workplace, mediation or anywhere. When you are dealing with high-conflict clients, it is especially important to consider the timing of different types of questions and also to know what questions you should never ask. 

Mall Smoothie Does Not Bind Teenager To Mom’s Arbitration Agreement With Credit Card

With respect to whether the daughter was bound by the plain language of the arbitration agreement, the Court had no trouble concluding she was not.   The arbitration agreement specifically applied to claims made by authorized users of the account.  

Joy On The History Of Experiential Education

Peter Joy (Washinton University School of Law) has published “The Uneasy History of Experiential Education in U.S. Law Schools,” forthcoming in the Dickinson Law Review and available here. The abstract: This article explores the history of legal education, particularly the rise of experiential learning and its importance.

You can make a Stone Soup at ABA Conference

This project is designed to engage younger people in our field and the Section.  If you see them at the conference, please introduce yourself and make them feel welcome.  You will be able to recognize them as they will have special ribbons on their nametags

Stone Soup: How to make the most in a Continuing Education Program

I think that one of the best questions is about the problems that participants experience in their work.  This is a great question to ask at the beginning of a program because it can help presenters relate the material throughout the event to participants’ own experiences.  

Difficult Conversations in the Modern Era of (anti-) Social Media

Virtually everyone in our field knows about the wonderful book, Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen.  It focuses on everyday conversations and not just crystalized disputes.