Law Commons^™

Confessions And Redemption—And Politics—For An Un-Neutral Person Who Mediates, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Within ADR’s house, and now in our arbitration and mediation rooms, we mediators, court ADR administrators, process designers,and arbitrators can construct and conduct processes that reflect moral values our law makers seem to have abandoned.

Reflections On Untethered Philosophy, Settlements, And Nondisclosure Agreements, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

The potentially harmful consequences of nondisclosure agreements in private settlements are troubling. They are a legal system problem, however, for which ADR is not to blame. Unless NDAs were prohibited for all legal claims, prohibiting them in mediated settlements would create greater incentives for pre-litigation direct settlements. The result would be less, not more, public awareness of (alleged) misdeeds.

Shaking Decision Trees For Risks And Rewards, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This articles explains the power and limitations of the role of numbers in the use of decision trees. Decision tree analysis involves cumulating probabilities. The method is also used to derive a “discounted value”: the sum of each possible outcome multiplied by its cumulative probability. Probability estimates must be true to their location on the tree and must assess interdependence of outcomes at risk pivots. When calculating cumulative probabilities, probabilities along a path must absolutely must be independent. A decision tree that is too simple fails to represent complex realities. One of the strongest reasons to use decision analysis is …

Client Science: Bad News And The Fully Informed Adr Client, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Professor Aaron comments that this piece, excerpted from: “Bad News and the Fully Informed Client,” the first chapter of her book, Client Science, addresses the lawyer’s challenge when counseling clients where “bad” news— negative, pessimistic or unwelcome developments or analysis—must be conveyed, whether or not within an ADR process. “As a mediator of civil cases, I suspect that mediation involves a higher than average percentage of cases involving ill-counseled clients or ‘difficult clients’ who may fairly be characterized as ‘counseling-resistant’ despite the best efforts of skilled lawyers. When the lawyer explains ‘bad news’ about case developments or likely outcomes, he …

‘Translating The Terrain’ Over Cultural Myths And Mistaken Assumptions, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Lawyers must recognize that, outside of the legal practice, people lack shared knowledge about its workings. Thus, the “lawyer-translator” must supply basic, missing knowledge of legal process, practice, and culture for her words to make sense. Without some of that knowledge, the lawyer’s words lack meaning.

Strategy At The Negotiation Table: From Stereotypes To Subtleties, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In mediation, we all know that attorneys negotiate for their clients with the other side and with the mediator, and the mediator negotiates with attorneys and clients on all sides. What role, if any, does gender play?

Arbitration Of Investors' Claims Against Issuers: An Idea Whose Time Has Come, Barbara Black

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court held that arbitration provisions contained in brokerage customers’ agreements were enforceable with respect to federal securities claims, proposals have been floated to include in an issuer’s governance documents a provision that would require arbitration of investors’ claims against the issuer. To date, however, publicly traded domestic issuers and their counsel have not seriously pursued these proposals, probably because of several legal obstacles to implementation. In addition to these legal obstacles, publicly traded issuers may not have perceived significant advantages to arbitration. Recent legal developments, however, make inclusion of an arbitration provision in a publicly …

Do's And Don'ts For Mediation Practice, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This is practical advice from mediators gleaned from years of experience and too many mistakes. It covers good and not-so-good practices in preliminary meetings and telephone conferences, joint sessions, and private caucuses.

Getting A Head Start: More Intake Questions And Tips For Mediators, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

A party's initial inquiry to a mediator about potentially participating in a case provides many opportunities for the neutral to initiate the steps necessary for a successful resolution. This article focuses on a list of intake questions for the mediator to direct to the parties.

At First Glance: Maximizing The Mediator‘S Initial Contact, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

First moves matter. A mediator’s strategic choices during the initial contact can encourage the next steps that will produce a successful mediation, or render mediation less likely or less productive.

Using Decision Trees As Tools For Settlement, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

While experienced lawyers can some­ times develop an intuitive sense of what a case is worth, their intuition may not be sufficient in a case of considerable complexity. Furthermore, intuitive "gut sense" valuations are hard to support or explain to clients.

Decision trees allow the parties and their lawyers to see more clearly how the strengths and weaknesses of their positions on specific issues will affect the overall value of a case. Long popular in the business community, deci­sion analysis has evolved as a tool for lawyers to help make decisions in complex litigation.

Adr Toolbox: The Highwire Art Of Evaluation, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Many mediators are uncomfortable with the idea of discussing or presenting evaluations. However, when parties reach an impasse, they often want the mediator to play an active role. In these cases, responsible use of evaluation is completely consistent with the goals of mediation. Mediators should provide an evaluation only if there is an insurmountable settlement gap that arises from the parties’ widely divergent views of what will happen if the case doesn’t settle. Evaluation is not a substitute for other essential mediation tools. It is a last step, but in many cases skipping that step means missing the sole opportunity …