When I was a litigator and preparing for trial, I would always write my closing argument first. One of my mentors told me, “You can’t tell the jury where to go unless you know what the destination looks like.” That was sage...more
Leonard Riskin is a renowned law professor and ADR scholar who taught at the University of Missouri during the ‘90s. During this time, Professor Riskin set out to observe mediations and write about the work of people who call...more
Negotiation is about communication, and it’s not just verbal communication. We negotiate by what we say, but we also negotiate by how we say it. In a mediation, parties rely on a mediation for much of the verbal...more
If you have lived through a mediation with me, you know that I have some canned opening remarks I make at the beginning of the process. I talk about my role as a neutral. I talk about confidentiality. I talk about the...more