Law Commons^™

When Lawyers Move Their Lips: Attorney Truthfulness In Mediation And A Modest Proposal, Donald Peters

Don Peters

This article examines whether the punch line that you can tell when lawyers are lying by confirming that their lips are moving applies to their conduct when negotiating in mediations. General surveys of lawyer honesty suggest that this perception probably does apply to the way lawyers negotiate in mediations. Only 20% of people surveyed in a 1993 American Bar Association poll described the legal profession as honest, and that number fell to 14% in a 1998 Gallup poll. However, research demonstrates a connection between honest negotiating and perceived effectiveness. A study of 5,000 Denver and Phoenix lawyers found that honest, …

Can We Talk?, Don Peters

Don Peters

CAN WE TALK: OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO MEDIATING PRIVATE TRANSBORDER COMMERCIAL DISPUTES IN THE AMERICAS Don Peters

This article examines cognitive and cultural barriers creating the comparatively infrequent use of mediation to resolve private, transborder commercial disputes in the Americas. It begins by analyzing the challenges of transborder commercial litigation. It then develops and supports the claim that international arbitration, the most frequently used transborder commercial dispute resolution method , suffers from many of litigation’s disadvantages, including excessive expense and delay, sacrificing outcome control, damaging or ending rather than preserving and improving commercial relationships, and using legalistic, rights based perspectives which …