Monthly Archives: October 2012

Lies Can Easily Be The Truth

Posted on October 31, 2012 by stevemehta

Many people are shocked and amazed when they find out that the juries are susceptible to lies of unscrupulous experts or witnesses.  They often state with incredulity that the truth should come out in trial.  Unfortunately, however, the truth doesn’t always come out.  Recently, a study from Australia helped to give a better understanding why […] Continue reading →

Posted in belief, beliefs, expert, jury, lies, Mediation, negotiation, parties, party, persuasion, preconcieved, Pyschological Research and negotiations, research, Stephan Lewandowsky, truth, witness | Comments Off

One Bad Act Can Cost You Way More In the Long Run

Posted on October 29, 2012 by stevemehta

So you have had one bad interaction with opposing counsel or the opposing party.  You would like to make it right.  So one good interaction should make it all better, right?  Wrong.  The reality is that one good interaction does not make up for one bad.  I know this to be true from every time […] Continue reading →

Posted in bad, frederickson, good, interaction, liking, make up, Mediation, negotiation, offset, Pyschological Research and negotiations | Comments Off

I know Nostradamus, and You My Friend Are No Nostradamus

Posted on October 26, 2012 by stevemehta

In every mediation, there is always some party that predicts the future. Phrases such as “There is no way that we can lose this case,” “most likely we will win,” or “the judge will never rule that way,” are frequently mentioned. The reality, however, is that people are generally very bad at telling the future […] Continue reading →

Posted in bias, future, lawyers, Mediation, optimistic, outcome, predicting, prediction, Pyschological Research and negotiations, trial, wishful thinking | Comments Off

I know Nostradamus, and You My Friend Are No Nostradamus

Posted on October 26, 2012 by stevemehta

In every mediation, there is always some party that predicts the future. Phrases such as “There is no way that we can lose this case,” “most likely we will win,” or “the judge will never rule that way,” are frequently mentioned. The reality, however, is that people are generally very bad at telling the future […] Continue reading →

Posted in bias, future, lawyers, Mediation, optimistic, outcome, predicting, prediction, Pyschological Research and negotiations, trial, wishful thinking | Comments Off

The Quitter Takes All

Posted on October 24, 2012 by stevemehta

This year, I am celebrating my ten year anniversary as a full time mediator. I have been doing it for approximately 14 years, but it was ten years ago that I chose to eliminate all other career paths and choose this one. Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I had stuck with my [...] Continue reading →

Posted in failure, Mediation, persistence, practice, quit, recipe, success | Comments Off

Negotiaflirt. A Powerful Tool In A Woman’s Negotiation Purse

Posted on October 17, 2012 by stevemehta

A recent study from UC Berkely has discovered that women can use flirtation as a very effective negotiation technique.  This is not true, however for men.  Flirtatiousness, female friendliness, or the more diplomatic description “feminine charm” is an effective way for women to gain negotiating mileage, according to a new study by Haas School Professor Laura [...] Continue reading →

Posted in flirt, Mediation, negotiate, negotiation, Pyschological Research and negotiations, success, successful, tactic, woman, women | Comments Off

The National Anthem As a New Way to Open a Mediation

Posted on October 15, 2012 by stevemehta

There is a large debate in the mediation world as to whether the parties should attend a joint session early in the mediation. This post, however, will not join that debate, but will instead posit a new beginning. We need to sing the national anthem together to start of the mediation. After all, isn’t that [...] Continue reading →

Posted in anthem, cooperation, Mediation, national, Pyschological Research and negotiations, pyschology, songs, sync, synchronize, wiltermuth | Comments Off

If they are all doing it and if it’s the new “thing” in business, why aren’t we doing it more in law?

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Michael Zeytoonian

So why aren’t we jumping all over processes like Collaborative Law in dispute resolution? Business, education, science, medicine, information technology, and other fields of endeavor have given us multiple successful models built around the principl… Continue reading →

Posted in Collaborative Law, Collaborative Mediation, Collaborative Processes, Dispute Resolution Resources | Comments Off