Resolution Strategies | A Monthly E-Newsletter
TUNNEL VISION
All too often, the parties to a dispute become so immersed in the details and so entrenched in their respective positions that they develop tunnel vision and are unable to see other potentially viable solutions. The following apocryphal story, which has been told in a variety of ways throughout t [...]
WHEN IT’S NOT ABOUT MONEY
While most litigated matters tend to involve claims in which one party seeks to recover monetary damages from another, there are a wide variety of disputes about which it can genuinely be said that “it’s not about money.” Whether it is a bitter squabble between former business partners, an emotio [...]
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED
When I first began to offer my services as a mediator, I considered it to be a personal failure on my part if a mediation ended for the day without the parties having reached a resolution. Even though I knew intellectually that mediation is a complicated process and that it’s not always possible [...]
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS
Last month, I noted that the “mediator’s proposal” is frequently used by parties as a way to avoid making the final concession in mediation. Wanting to “save face,” the parties often prefer to delegate responsibility for the outcome to the mediator. [...]
AND THE WINNER IS . . .
Those of you who have mediated with me, or attended my MCLE course, may have heard me describe negotiation as a necessarily competitive process that paradoxically requires cooperation in order for the parties to reach their shared destination, i.e. resolution. [...]