Secrets and Surprises

If you are going to trial, a secret may be your silver bullet but this makes little sense when we live in the era of “the vanishing jury trial.” In fact, in most jurisdictions [READ MORE ...]

It is not unusual for one or both sides to feel the other side is overvaluing their case and failing to be objective about the risks [READ MORE ...]

Information is power in our legal culture. Secrets and surprises can create an advantage. Hundreds of years of legal culture make lawyers hesitate [READ MORE ...]

When I took my first course in mediation in 1993, it was taught as a process with predictable stages: openings; issue identification; caucus; negotiation; agreement; close. In practice, it is a lot less orderly and much more complex than anyone ever tells you. [READ MORE ...]

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway phenomenon Hamilton portrays the life of Alexander Hamilton and the origins of our nation with momentum and [READ MORE ...]

We also try to figure out if we should mediate or settle the case and on what terms. We proceed with confidence in the logic of our opinions [READ MORE ...]

In a difficult negotiation, how does your negotiating style change? [READ MORE ...]

The rule of reciprocity says that we should “try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” This rule is basic [READ MORE ...]

61% of Plaintiffs who reject settlement offers and go to trial recover an average of $43,100 less than the last offer they [READ MORE ...]

Mediator neutrality is a basic tenet of our profession. But what does that mean? Is the Mediator practicing [READ MORE ...]