“The only thing which will redeem mankind is cooperation” said the philosopher Bertrand Russell. Perhaps only a real crisis will enable us truly to appreciate what this means and what it takes. The impact of the COVID-19 virus is seen by some to be akin to being in a world war though, as others have…
Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you’ve got a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies- “God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.” Kurt Vonnegut God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater…
For two weeks now I have not left my immediate neighbourhood to go out into the city and have only left my apartment to go shopping for food or to walk our dog. A couple of times I did drive out of the city. I have not used public transportation, which otherwise I would have…
Years ago, as a student in the Harvard Program on Negotiation, I watched the now famous Hackerstar Negotiation video. It’s a great teaching tool and I still use it. It is a masterful demonstration of the power of effective preparation using the 7 elements. It’s also a great demonstration of what I call interruption compulsion…
Mediation: “The insertion of a human buffer between people who need assistance to interact with each other.” This definition speaks to the three core issues facing the mediator every time they enter a session. Human: to what degree does the mediator insert their own humanity into the process of mediation. Interact: to what degree does…
I hope you are fine. Obviously, I write this blog at home, where I am with my family. We are all healthy, but we try to adapt to this situation, to stay isolated to protect ourselves and those around us. As if the Earth stopped spinning, everyone stopped doing everything and most of all, it…
Public Service Warning: Some may find the contents of this entry a little too “funky” for their liking. The ideas within may challenge your concept of notions of human autonomy. If so, I recommend you move on. Nothing to see here. If you are still reading, thank you for staying. For readers who are new,…
I am very glad to start today a 4 posts serie with my fellow Gustavo Carneiro, a lawyer and mediator who holds a Public Policy degree, analyzing the new brazilian General Data Protection Law, which will come into force in August 2020 and its application for ODR. Online Mediation and other ODR methods are getting…
Anyone managing international business disputes needs to understand the Singapore Convention on Mediation. Not just its terms and limitations, but the reasons why certain matters are included and why others are omitted, as well as how to interpret and apply it. All mediated business settlements with an international angle that are concluded from now on…
“The ground is so wet; it wasn’t like this in the past. We can’t get started on this year’s soil preparation.” In a recent mediation involving farmers, this was the response to my early inquiry about how things were going, generally. These days, I find that the topic of climate change and its effects arises,…
