Mediation and the Psychology of Money, Part II
by Andrew Flake
In a prior post, I reviewed a compact and very readable book from Wall Street Journal columnist Morgan Housel, whose thesis, supported by colorful...
Phased ADR Clauses, Redux
by Andrew Flake
Having discussed phased dispute resolution, a process in our contracts that moves from more informal modes of discussion to binding ones, like arbitration, let's add some caveats. These provisions are not off-the-rack suits, to be draped...
Human Nature and Mediation: A Focused Review of “The Psychology of Money”
by Andrew Flake
I always appreciate a good book recommendation, and received one the other week in The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness. In a compact format, author Morgan Housel, a...
If Honeybees Could Mediate: Benefits of Phased Dispute Resolution
by Andrew Flake
I took a field trip last weekend, visiting the gardens of a friend and experienced beekeeper. During a tour of the grounds, I watched in fascination as she tended to honeybees in the hundreds of...
Mediation Principles for our National Conversation
Much of President Biden's inaugural address sounded historically resonant American themes of unity across differences. As I watched, I thought about the work ahead for not only Congress, but all of us. In attempting to forge consensus around policy and legislative solutions--to move...
Phoning It In: Telephonic Mediation in a Virtual World
A litigator friend of mine recently shared her frustration over being forced to mediate a case by phone. The mediation was being set up by a government agency, and the agency representative in question was not...
Uniform Mediation Act Still Trekking Through the States
The steadily rising costs of litigation, and the current backlog on civil dockets, have borne out what one of the most effective American trial lawyers of an earlier generation observed: that in...
A Promising Future for the Singapore Convention and Global Mediation
I was talking with a colleague from Australian recently, a barrister and frequent mediator, about what the coming years will bring for international dispute resolution, and for mediation in particular. We agreed that in more jurisdictions across the world, mediation will continue to gain wider...