Negotiation

Pushing the Boundaries: Negotiating with Kidnappers and Pirates

Negotiation

Pushing the Boundaries: Negotiating with Kidnappers and Pirates

A sobering -- even frightening -- panel at the IBA's Vancouver conference addressed negotiation in volatile, politically charged and dangerous circumstances -- pushing the boundaries of mediation past the purely commercial, into a world where lives may depend on the skill and success of the negotiator or mediator. Maritime pirates off...

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Conflict Resolution|Employment|Mediation|Negotiation|systems design

ADR: The Customer's Perspective

Conflict Resolution|Employment|Mediation|Negotiation|systems design

ADR: The Customer's Perspective

Hans Peter Frick, General Counsel of Nestlé, once offered this guidance for business mediators:  You can either make what you think is a good candy bar and convince people that they "ought to" buy it, or you could go out and ask people what kind of candy bar they want, and...

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Mediation

Excuse-Not-To-Mediate No. 35(b): "I Got a Slam Dunk"

Mediation

Excuse-Not-To-Mediate No. 35(b): "I Got a Slam Dunk"

My mentor at CPR Institute, former Olin General Counsel Peter Kaskell, once wrote an amusing article called something like "The 10 Worst Reasons Not to Mediate."  I have to find it one day and rip it off as a post.  But I myself had recent occasion to deal with one of...

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Conflict Resolution|Negotiation

The Art and Science of Persuasion

Conflict Resolution|Negotiation

The Art and Science of Persuasion

The annual Conference of the International Bar Association in Vancouver presented several panels of unusual distinction and interest.  This first report covers a group of speakers posing the questions: "What does it take to persuade?  How does a lawyer cause an arbitrator, judge, businessperson or other lawyer, to willingly reach the...

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Conflict Resolution|International|Mediation

IBA Annual Meeting Promises Interesting Dialogue

Conflict Resolution|International|Mediation

IBA Annual Meeting Promises Interesting Dialogue

Last year's IBA meeting in Madrid was an exciting time for those interested in dispute resolution around the world.  The current issue of Mediation News, the newsletter of the IBA Legal Practice Division, contains an article by me summarizing several but by no means all of the insightful sessions.  This...

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