Now that I have hit double digits as a neutral, I thought I would share some mediation practice tips for attorneys based on lessons learned over the last 10 years. Be Prepared. I prepare for every mediation, and you should too. You should know the case and also your client. …
Tag: maximize mediation
ADR Insights on Business Divorces: Money, Money, Money (Part 7 of 9)
Money, money, money, must be funny in the rich man’s world. Money, money, money, always sunny in the rich man’s world. (ABBA’s Money, Money, Money) (Written by Benny Goran Bror Andersson and Bjoern K. Ulvaeus) This is the seventh in the “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” nine-part series exploring…
ADR Insights on Business Divorces: You Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ (Part 6 of 9)
You lost that lovin’ feelin’ Whoa, that lovin’ feelin’ You’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’ Now it’s gone … gone … gone…woah. (The Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling’) (Written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil) This is the sixth in the “Breaking Up is Hard to Do”…
ADR Insights on Business Divorces: I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Part 4 of 9)
Ooo I heard it through the grapevine Not much longer would you be mine Ooo I heard it through the grapevine And I’m just about to lose my mind. (Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through the Grapevine) (Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong) This is the fourth in the…
Mediator Insights: The Give and Take of Mediation
Mediation is a give and take. It requires listening and sharing. It requires understanding wants and needs. To illustrate, let’s consider Karen Kaufman Orloff’s “I Wanna Iguana.” In this story, young Alex’s friend Mikey is moving away and cannot take his pet iguana with him. Alex really, really, really wants…
Mediator Insights: Help
Never be afraid to ask your mediator for help. We all need a little help sometimes. To illustrate, let’s consider Audrey Wood’s Silly Sally, which is a children’s book written in rhyme. I’d like to share a few excerpts. “Silly Sally went to town, walking backwards, upside down.” “Along the…
Mayer Mediation Minute: Use Your Listening Ears
Have you ever said to your kids “use your listening ears”? Just as it is important that our children use their listening ears at home and at school, so too is it important that we use our listening ears in mediation. As a mediator, I work hard to listen to…
Mediator Insights: Just Ask
Mediation is a multilayered process including, among other things, sharing, learning, probing, and exploring. Sometimes, one or both parties get stuck. And sometimes the stuck party will say “they will never accept what I can offer.” Instead of trying, the stuck party has prejudged how the other side will respond. …
Mediator Insights: The Power of Flexible Thinking
In any dispute, there is often a wide disparity between what each side wants and what either side may realistically get. One of the critical components in bridging the resolution divide is flexible thinking. Flexible thinking means the ability to adapt and adjust as the facts, the law, and the…
Mediator Insights: Don’t Overlook the Obvious
While very often the path to resolution of a dispute is circuitous, sometimes it is obvious and direct. But all too often, those involved in the litigation cannot see it. This is one way that a neutral can help. To illustrate how this arises outside of the dispute resolution context,…