[With this year's MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia less than two weeks away, I've decided to revisit one of my favorite editions of Resolution Strategies. Originally published in 2010, it explores timeless lessons about accountability, humility, forgiveness, and grace that remain as relevant today [...]
On September 18, 2006, the Los Angeles Dodgers staged one of the most improbable comebacks in Major League Baseball history. Trailing the Padres 9-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the final outcome appeared all but certain. Then the unimaginable happened. Four consecutive home runs tied the scor [...]
When the Michigan Wolverines cut down the nets after winning the 2026 NCAA championship, it felt a bit more personal in our house. My daughter, Jamie, is a graduate of the University of Michigan — which makes us a “Go Blue!” household. No one had a perfect March Madness bracket this year. In fact, n [...]
Last week, I mediated a case in which two injured plaintiffs seemed ready to negotiate, but could not — held hostage by a dispute between two corporate defendants over additional insured status and contractual indemnity obligations. Although both plaintiffs were prepared to engage and the gap, on it [...]
The traditional negotiation dance assumes an open exchange of demands and offers. Occasionally, however, caution counsels otherwise — as it did in a mediation a few months back. Returning for a second session — the first having stalled over coverage issues — Plaintiff opened with a $3,000,000 demand [...]
Last month, in Safety in Numbers, I addressed the concern that Baseball Mediation™ is “too risky,” using statistical data to quantify how narrow the risk has been — $70,000 or less, to date — for cases in which the impasse-breaking mechanism is triggered. Since then, two closely related questions ha [...]
During a mediation three weeks ago, I asked counsel for plaintiff whether there was any interest in converting the matter to Baseball Mediation™. Without hesitation, he responded “It’s too risky.” His reaction hardly came as a surprise — I've heard it before from both sides. But the numbers tell a d [...]
When Dancing with the Stars premiered back in 2005, my daughter Jamie was just eight years old. Every week, we'd watch together — with unabashed and unapologetic enthusiasm — as the professional dancers magically transformed their celebrity partners into honest-to-goodness ballroom dancers, able to [...]
For reasons I've never understood, many attorneys resist face-to-face dialogue during mediation. Some fear it will be confrontational; others worry it will weaken their position. Yet avoiding direct conversation often deprives the parties of mediation's full value. In one memorable mediation, it was [...]
[This is an updated version of an oldie-but-goodie from 2018] In June of 1894, amidst a deepening economic crisis, railroad employees staged a strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company, to protest severe wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. Within days, members of the American Rail [...]