Monthly Archives: June 2011

What Do the End of the Worlders, Austin Powers and Mediation Have to Do With Each Other?

Posted on June 28, 2011 by stevemehta

Recently, I was at a soccer tournament recently and a goal keeper saved a goal. At the same time, one of the parents jokingly stated that the Goalkeeper had saved the world. How, I asked. The parent then reminded me that a religious organization had recently professed that the world was going to end on that exact date and time. At that same time, the Goal keeper had saved the goal, and as a result saved the soccer team from total destruction. The next day, the religious organization claimed that they had miscalculated and that the new date was really the end of the world. That world saving goal keeper got me thinking about why people are convinced about their positions and why they don’t change their mind even in the face of overwhelming evidence. That process brought me to the the concept of the Backfire Effect. Continue reading →

Posted in austin, backfire, belief, Brendan, conviction, convinced, David McRaney, effect, influence, jason, Mediation, Nyhan, persuade, persuasion, powers, Pyschological Research and negotiations, Reifler, research, study | Comments Off

Ask your lawyer about PRD, coming from down-under

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Michael Zeytoonian

In our last blog, we began the discussion of what ADR is and why people are steadily asking their lawyers to use processes like mediation and collaborative law. We talked about arbitration becoming more and more like litigation. Continue reading →

Posted in Collaborative Law, Collaborative Mediation, Collaborative Processes, Dispute Resolution Resources, Mediation, Primary Dispute Resolution (PDR), Sustainability | Comments Off

Ask your lawyer for “PDR” and help make the “Alternative” the “Primary”

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Michael Zeytoonian

We use different approaches like mediation, collaborative law, conciliation, case evaluation and our own Integrated Dispute Resolution (“IDR”) to help people solve their problem and we tailor that approach to the specific situation and circumstance… Continue reading →

Posted in Case Evaluation, Collaborative Law, Collaborative Processes, Mediation, Primary Dispute Resolution (PDR), Seven compelling reasons for ADR | Comments Off

Don’t Judge a Mediation By its Cover

Posted on June 15, 2011 by stevemehta

By Steven G. Mehta Recently I was reminded of the the old adage, “never judge a book by its cover.”  Prior to mediation, one of the parties to the mediation wrote that the case will never settle.  At that point the attorney for the party proceeded to write a compendium about why the case will [...] Continue reading →

Posted in book, case, communication, cover, judge, Mediation, mediator, negotiation, negotiator, perception, prejudge | Comments Off

Edison: Opportunity is Disguised as Work

Posted on June 3, 2011 by stevemehta

By Steven G. Mehta Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas A. Edison This quote addresses some of the issues of starting a mediation practice.  Many people want to be mediators; they just don’t want to do the work to become a mediator.  It is [...] Continue reading →

Posted in disguised, edison, Mediation, opportunity, thomas, work | Comments Off

Edison: It Isn’t Useless, It Didn’t Go as Planned

Posted on June 1, 2011 by stevemehta

By Steven G. Mehta Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless. Thomas A. Edison In mediation, you often have to take risks with regards to strategies that will work.  Not all strategies will work.  Sometimes, the parties will feel as if it was a waste of time [...] Continue reading →

Posted in edison, Mediation, planned, strategy, thomas, useless | Comments Off