The other day, I conducted two mediations between the same plaintiff’s counsel, the same defendants and their counsel. The only different party in the two mediations was the plaintiff. One mediation was to start in the morning and the next in early afternoon, figuring each would take about 3 hours.

Unfortunately, the first mediation lasted much longer than expected; about 5 ½ hours. Although it settled, it was a difficult settlement, and one that took a lot out of everyone to reach.

I noticed that beginning in the early afternoon, towards the end of the first mediation, one of the defense counsel starting getting grumpy, meaning her blood sugar was low. She was also probably tired as she had gotten up very early that morning to drive a great distance to attend the mediation, and no doubt, had the return drive to face.

Although, I had ordered lunch, it had not yet arrived. When it finally came, everyone ate, but I noticed that the mood of the defense counsel did not really change. She was still grumpy.

Why? Being tired and hungry and not taking a break probably had a lot to do with it.

Once again, Katie Shonk has posted a blog on the website of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School revealing that hunger pangs correlate to a sense of entitlement. (“In Business Negotiations, Eat Before You Negotiate.” (October 7, 2014).) In an experiment with Cornell students entering or leaving the university dining hall, Professor Emily Zitek at Cornell, and Professor Alexander Jordan of Dartmouth College, asked the students to agree or disagree with the statement that they “feel more deserving than others” or “People like me deserve an extra break now and then.” (Id.)

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