A federal trial court readily concluded that settlement agreements and settlement negotiations were protected from discovery by a mediation privilege if they took place in mediation, but were not protected if they occurred outside mediation. The court noted that most courts recognize a federal common law mediation privilege, and that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had observed that all states have apparently enacted a mediation privilege, while there is no state consensus regarding...
Oftentimes when we think we're engaged in reasoned policy discussion we're actually engaged in complex efforts to rationalize the direction in which our tribal affiliations are pushing us. Psychologists call this motivated reasoning. And they've shown its power in laboratory settings again and again and again.
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The problem is that human beings are incredibly good at rationalizing their way to whatever conclusion their group wants them to reach. And most policies can be supported -- or opposed...
There is much that the latest developments in neuroscience can teach legal professionals about negotiations. This is particularly true when it comes to how people process information and make decisions. Mediators and lawyers alike can benefit particularly from what neuroscientists have revealed about priming and framing, two potent filtering mechanisms that can either inflame the emotional barriers to settlement or potentially defuse them.
Settlement negotiations rarely proceed in a smooth forward motion; in fact, most feel more like a ride in a bumper car with a jerky stop and start motion. A good negotiator learns to move past the inevitable impasses.
Here are 8 tips for negotiating past an impasse:
Use Your Leverage.
Use Objective Standards.
Use Objective Procedures.
Name the Dynamic.
Exchange More Information.
Take a Break.
Carve Out Issues.
Reexamine Your Position.