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Presumptive Mediation
October 17, 2019
Is this yet another case in which New York is setting global trends? By the end of the year, the state courts in New York are due to have a system in place requiring that civil and commercial disputes be resolved through presumptive mediation. “Presumptive mediation” means an “automatic”, pre-trial, statewide program of court-sponsored ADR. In this context, the term ADR, and specifically its “alternative” first “A”, sounds increasingly like an oxymoron, as mediation reclaims its central...
October 17, 2019
Is this yet another case in which New York is setting global trends? By the end of the year, the state courts in New York are due to have a system in place requiring that civil and commercial disputes be resolved through presumptive mediation. “Presumptive mediation” means an “automatic”, pre-trial, statewide program of court-sponsored ADR. In this context, the term ADR, and specifically its “alternative” first “A”, sounds increasingly like an oxymoron, as mediation reclaims its central...
The Good and Bad of Anger in Negotiation!
October 16, 2019
Ultimately, the researchers found that “…as anger intensity increased, initially the concessions that were made also increased, but at a certain point, as anger intensity continued to increase, the concessions decreased.” (Id.) In a Harvard Negotiation PON Blog post, Katie Shonk in “The Art of Negotiation: Anger Management at the Bargaining Table” (August 13, 2018), notes that while anger in negotiation may help a party claim value, one must be careful. A 2013 study by Stéphane ...
October 16, 2019
Ultimately, the researchers found that “…as anger intensity increased, initially the concessions that were made also increased, but at a certain point, as anger intensity continued to increase, the concessions decreased.” (Id.) In a Harvard Negotiation PON Blog post, Katie Shonk in “The Art of Negotiation: Anger Management at the Bargaining Table” (August 13, 2018), notes that while anger in negotiation may help a party claim value, one must be careful. A 2013 study by Stéphane ...
Impasse in Mediation
October 15, 2019
Why does impasse occur in mediation? In my experience as a commercial mediator, impasse most often flows from a combination...
October 15, 2019
Why does impasse occur in mediation? In my experience as a commercial mediator, impasse most often flows from a combination...
Legal Authorities and Comparative Law in International Commercial Arbitration
October 14, 2019
S.I. Strong, Manley O. Hudson Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law, has published, “Legal Authorities and Comparative Law in International Commercial Arbitration: Best Practices versus Empirically Determined Actual Practices;” 1 Ius Comparatum __ (2020 Forthcoming); University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2019-18. In her journal article, Professor Strong examines the intersection of international arbitration...
October 14, 2019
S.I. Strong, Manley O. Hudson Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law, has published, “Legal Authorities and Comparative Law in International Commercial Arbitration: Best Practices versus Empirically Determined Actual Practices;” 1 Ius Comparatum __ (2020 Forthcoming); University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2019-18. In her journal article, Professor Strong examines the intersection of international arbitration...
The Surprising Benefits – and Risks – of Trash Talk
October 13, 2019
Incredibly, those who had been the targets of trash-talking performed significantly better than those who hadn’t. “That’s interesting because though we tend to think of it as being a way of intimidating another person, and diminishing their performance, what we’re finding is that when you’re the recipient of trash talk, you become extra motivated to outperform your opponent,” says Yip. Oddly, this is the only consequence of the technique that people seem to be able to predict. When...
October 13, 2019
Incredibly, those who had been the targets of trash-talking performed significantly better than those who hadn’t. “That’s interesting because though we tend to think of it as being a way of intimidating another person, and diminishing their performance, what we’re finding is that when you’re the recipient of trash talk, you become extra motivated to outperform your opponent,” says Yip. Oddly, this is the only consequence of the technique that people seem to be able to predict. When...
Like A Dog
October 5, 2019
Where do dogs come from? Where do human beings come from? Recent research suggests a single answer: domestication. The various characteristics of dogs, distinguishing them from wolves, appear to be byproducts of domestication and (as recently shown by Richard Wrangham) a reduction in “reactive aggression.” It has long been thought that human beings domesticated dogs, but it is more plausible to think that that dogs domesticated themselves. As dogs are to wolves, so is the less robust but more...
October 5, 2019
Where do dogs come from? Where do human beings come from? Recent research suggests a single answer: domestication. The various characteristics of dogs, distinguishing them from wolves, appear to be byproducts of domestication and (as recently shown by Richard Wrangham) a reduction in “reactive aggression.” It has long been thought that human beings domesticated dogs, but it is more plausible to think that that dogs domesticated themselves. As dogs are to wolves, so is the less robust but more...
Framing, Process and Empathy
October 4, 2019
Several weeks ago, I posted a blog about a book I recently read, Negotiating the Impossible by Deepak Malhotra (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., Oakland, Ca. 2016). In it, the author notes that three things are paramount to resolving the most intractable disputes: Framing, Process and Empathy. By “framing”, the author means presenting a proposal objectively so that it can be made more attractive than otherwise. (Id. at 11.) In sum, it is all about how a proposal is presented-...
October 4, 2019
Several weeks ago, I posted a blog about a book I recently read, Negotiating the Impossible by Deepak Malhotra (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., Oakland, Ca. 2016). In it, the author notes that three things are paramount to resolving the most intractable disputes: Framing, Process and Empathy. By “framing”, the author means presenting a proposal objectively so that it can be made more attractive than otherwise. (Id. at 11.) In sum, it is all about how a proposal is presented-...
Deconstructing Henry: Negotiation Lessons from Kissinger’s Career
October 1, 2019
This review essay (this is the unedited version of the essay to be published in 35 Negotiation Journal 337-361, 2019) reviews the book, Kissinger the Negotiator: Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Levels by James Senbenius, Nicholas Burns and Robert Mnookin, (Harper Collins, 2018). The essay uses the book’s trope of a camera lens of “zooming out and zooming in” to analyze different lessons about preparation, the wide scope of negotiations, expanding issues, parties and coalition formation,...
October 1, 2019
This review essay (this is the unedited version of the essay to be published in 35 Negotiation Journal 337-361, 2019) reviews the book, Kissinger the Negotiator: Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Levels by James Senbenius, Nicholas Burns and Robert Mnookin, (Harper Collins, 2018). The essay uses the book’s trope of a camera lens of “zooming out and zooming in” to analyze different lessons about preparation, the wide scope of negotiations, expanding issues, parties and coalition formation,...
On the Redesign of Accident Liability for the World of Autonomous Vehicles
September 29, 2019
This article proposes a scheme of liability that would desirably control accident risks in the coming world in which motor vehicles will be autonomous. In that world, travelers will not be drivers, rendering liability premised on driver fault irrelevant as a means of reducing accident dangers. Moreover, no other conventional principle of individual or of manufacturer liability would serve well to do so. Indeed, strict manufacturer liability, recommended by many commentators, would actually tend...
September 29, 2019
This article proposes a scheme of liability that would desirably control accident risks in the coming world in which motor vehicles will be autonomous. In that world, travelers will not be drivers, rendering liability premised on driver fault irrelevant as a means of reducing accident dangers. Moreover, no other conventional principle of individual or of manufacturer liability would serve well to do so. Indeed, strict manufacturer liability, recommended by many commentators, would actually tend...
Optimism Key to Living Longer? This Study Says So
September 28, 2019
A study of more than 69,000 female health professionals ages 58 to 86, and more than 1,400 male veterans ages 41 to 90, who were followed for 10 to 30 years, concluded that a sunny disposition may indeed lengthen your life. The participants who reported the highest levels of optimism were 50% to 70% more likely to live to age 85 or beyond. The results were steady even when researchers took into account other factors including health conditions such as heart disease, cancer or depression. But other...
September 28, 2019
A study of more than 69,000 female health professionals ages 58 to 86, and more than 1,400 male veterans ages 41 to 90, who were followed for 10 to 30 years, concluded that a sunny disposition may indeed lengthen your life. The participants who reported the highest levels of optimism were 50% to 70% more likely to live to age 85 or beyond. The results were steady even when researchers took into account other factors including health conditions such as heart disease, cancer or depression. But other...
