ADR, HNLR Online Article, Mediation

Making Settlements Stick: How to Encourage Compliance with Mediated Agreements

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By Stephanie Singer Even though mediated settlements often have the force of law behind them, no party wants to have to go to court or return to the negotiating table to enforce an agreement.There are a number of steps a mediator can take to encourage parties to honor their commitments, both during the mediation session and in the structure of the resulting agreement. Emphasize the Parties’ Relationship Parties are more likely to comply with an […]

Conflict Management, HNLR Online Article, Peacebuilding

Talking with the Taliban: Should the U.S. “Bargain with the Devil” in Afghanistan?

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Although the issue has not yet gained the prominence of its Iranian analogue, it is essential to begin conducting a sober analysis of whether the benefits of negotiating with the Taliban outweigh the costs. While there are many negotiations relevant to the Afghan War—between the U.S. and its NATO allies, between the U.S. and the Afghan and Pakistani governments, and between the Pakistanis and the Taliban—this paper will focus on whether the United States, together

ADR, Collaborative Law, HNLR Online Article

Two Legal Rivers Converge in Collaborative Law

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By Michael Zeytoonian, Esq. & R. Paul Faxon, Esq. Transactional law, centered on structuring voluntary and private business deals, and civil litigation, involving legal disputes between parties who need the public courts to impose a judgment, occupy different worlds in the practice of law.  On those rare occasions that these legal disciplines do intersect, it is neither by design nor is it typically welcomed with enthusiasm. However, one noteworthy exception exists – in the freeing

Effective Communication, HNLR Online Article, Negotiation

Communication 2.0: The Perils of Communicating Through Technology

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Think of all the ways our lives have been made easier and more efficient with technology.  With just the click of a button (or a mouse), we have the world at our fingertips.  Communication alone has changed drastically over the past decade (for the better, right?).  Besides face-to-face meetings and phone calls, we have email, instant messaging (IM), text messaging, eNewsletters, blogs, list-servs, online forums and threads, virtual reality, webcasts and webinars (and more that

ADR, HNLR Online Article, Mediation

U.S. Corporations Should Implement In-House Mediation Programs Into Their Business Plans To Resolve Disputes

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“We decided that we wanted to regain control of our money, of our documents, of our reputation and of our time,” said Andrew Byers, overseer of The Toro Company’s mediation program, regarding why The Toro Company of Bloomington, MN implemented a mediation program to settle their in-house and customer disputes as an alternative to litigation. [1] According to professional mediator Michael Roberts: “We are in the midst of a litigation crisis. The high cost and

ADR, Conflict Management, HNLR Online Article, Mediation

Using Mediation to Resolve Disputes Between U.S. Military Bases and Foreign Hosts: A Case Study in Japan

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The U.S. military presence in Japan has provided great stability in a region of uncertainty. In recent years, the importance of the U.S. military in Asia has been underscored by continuing volatility in North Korea, the growth of terrorist organizations and pirates, and expanded human trafficking.[1] A continued relationship between the Japanese and the U.S. military is vital to regional stability, the protection of maritime commerce routes, and the countering of proliferation of weapons of

HNLR Online Article, Negotiation

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Value of Empowering Your Counterparts to Collaborate

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Businessdictionary.com defines the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy as “[E]xpectations about circumstances, events, or people that affect a person’s behavior [such that] he or she (unknowingly) creates situations [that fulfill] those expectations.”  In other words, your predictions about a situation (and therefore how you act in that situation) will cause those predictions to come true. But what does this have to do with you as a negotiator?  More than you think.  In a typical negotiation with at least

Conflict Management, HNLR Online Article

No Silver Burress for Plaxico’s Bullets: How an Unstructured Approach to Problem-Solving Can Produce Mixed-Up Results

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On November 28, 2008, New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh with an unlicensed handgun while partying at a New York City nightclub. Beyond the poor judgment of the incident itself was the short-sightedness of the team’s response to it, which demonstrated just how inadequate problem-solving can be when conducted without the use of a structured approach. The major flaw lay in failing to properly diagnose the problem and

Conflict Management, HNLR Online Article, Peacebuilding

Tomorrow’s Peacemakers: How to Encourage the Next Generation of Conflict Management Professionals

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Ask Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, how he thinks we can make the world a better place, and he’ll answer without hesitation that we must teach young people how to deal with conflict better.  In a conversation with us earlier last year, he spoke about our obligation to foster a generation of global citizens equipped to create value and improve relationships within families, across organizations, and among nation-states.

ADR, Arbitration, Collaborative Law, HNLR Online Article, Mediation

Junctions Along the ADR Spectrum

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As ADR practitioners get out and educate the public about the various alternative dispute resolution processes, we frequently hear some of the same questions asked. People want to know the differences between this approach and that one, between what I do and what other lawyers do, between facilitative and evaluative mediation styles.  In order to best help our clients, we need to be able to successfully and clearly answer their questions. What’s the difference between

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