The Skills of Civil Discourse: What Mediators Have to Share This Thanksgiving
by Andrew Flake
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of joining colleagues at Atlanta's Carter Center to moderate a program on "Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution." Sponsored by our Atlanta International Arbitration Society, it featured a discussion by scholar Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D., who has...
Mediation Math — The Power of Combinations
by Andrew Flake
As mediators, we often find ourselves at the intersection of complex disputes and seemingly irreconcilable positions. But what if I told you that one of the keys to unlocking creative settlements lies in a simple middle school math concept – combinations? Both of my...
More Than One Way to Loosen the Knot: The Power of Options in Mediation
by Andrew Flake
I have blinds on my office window and one morning not long ago, I noticed a knot, really a tangle, that seemed much larger than I remembered. I decided to untie it, and after a painstaking length of...
The Forest and the Trees: Drafting The Optimal Arbitration Clause
by Andrew Flake
I participated recently in a discussion on alternative dispute resolution in IP disputes -- mediating and arbitrating trademark and patent infringement cases, and particular challenges that can arise. One of the topics we took up, which...
The Lawyer’s Creed and Successful Mediation: Some Holiday Reflections
by Andrew Flake
It's 11:50 p.m. You're preparing to hit send on an email to opposing counsel, a lengthy and powerful epistle that will surely send them scrambling. Suddenly, you feel a chill. A wind whistles through your office. Was...