Mediations can be as unique as the cases that spawned them. But one pattern often emerges: After months of focusing predominantly on their position, parties enter the mediation room and get a long look at the other side’s case—the law as their opponent reads it, the facts as they interpret them, and their adversary’s view … Read more
Early this summer, the Rodent cynically complained that mediation “hasn’t progressed much since the days of the Hatfields and McCoys.” (DBR, June 19, 2012). I’m not sure if the little guy needed a vacation or just lacked perspective, but his rat hole has a very limited view. Mediation should be no different. The implied threat … Read more
At a recent American Bar Association meeting, a seminar participant complained that mediators were “just number carriers” — and three others nodded in agreement. An hour later, a charming woman I had never met casually announced to our lunch table that mediation was “just a waste of a day.” I was dumbstruck. It was not … Read more
We have all heard parents fret about answering their children’s questions about where babies come from. Responses to the daunting “how does life begin” inquiry range from evasive stories about birds and bees, to the time-honored “ask your mother,” or these days perhaps, “ask your other mother.” Less storied, but equally important, is the question … Read more
Over the years, the legal and medical professions have often gone head to head.These days, however, they share a common headache: the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, including amended federal laws and regulations called the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH. Unlike most headaches, however, … Read more