Legal Profession Commons^™

Introduction: Can The Ordinary Practice Of Law Be A Religious Calling?, Robert F. Cochran Jr

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Lawyering: A Closer Look At An Emerging Practice, William H. Schwab

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

A critical analysis of collaborative law (CL) is only now beginning, and should be based on actual, not hypothetical information about the practice and its impact on clients as courts, the bar, and the public begin to digest the idea of CL. This Article intends to present a more comprehensive picture of collaborative practice than is currently available, to better inform the ongoing conversation about what role CL will play in the legal system. Toward that end, the following sketches some basic questions about CL, and provides some preliminary answers. Part I recounts the origin of CL and introduces the …

Collaborative Family Law, Pauline H. Tesler

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Collaborative Law appears to meet significant needs both among family law clients and among the lawyers who assist them through divorce. As will be discussed more fully below, clients appear to want the advantages of a contained, settlement-oriented, creative, private, respectful process without sacrificing the benefits of having a committed legal advocate at their sides. For that reason Collaborative Law appeals to clients who may hesitate to commit to a dispute resolution process facilitated solely by a neutral mediator. And, while many family lawyers suffer considerable professional angst as a consequence of their awareness that family law courts are neither …

The Mediated Settlement: Is It Always Just About The Money? Rarely!, Steven L. Schwartz

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Since our legal system of dispute resolution tends to remedy wrongs only by payment of money, most settlements will eventually involve negotiations over the amount to be paid and received. Yet, in both the theory and actual practice of mediation that has lead this writer to conclude that it is never just about the money. Effective lawyer representation of clients in mediation requires a different kind of investigation and preparation than lawyers may be accustomed to conducting. Similarly, an effective mediator must be adept in identifying the clues that reveal the "below the water line" interests at work and which …

The Narrative Approach To Mediation, Toran Hansen

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Narrative Mediation is an approach and methodology that can offer mediators an innovative way to handle conflict intervention. It is important to note that "it is not a model that can be ransacked for techniques without damaging the intent and process it requires.. .because the foundational view is vastly different [from other approaches]." It may, however, particularly appeal to mediators with a postmodernist theoretical bent who prefer to work with the accounts of parties in conflict rather than attempting to get at "the truth" because they recognize that any truth brings with it implicit bias. The explicit role of mediator …

Defining The Ethical Limits Of Acceptable Deception In Mediation, John W. Cooley

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

In a recent law review article I authored for the Loyola University of Chicago Law Review, Mediation Magic: Its Use and Abuse, I addressed the perplexing problem of the current lack of ethical guidance available to mediators and mediation advocates on the question of permissible uses of deception in mediation generally and in caucused mediation, in particular. This article is a sequel to that publication, offering the reader a condensation of some of the ideas contained in that article and some additional thoughts on criteria that might be appropriate to consider when designing a truthfulness standard for mediation.

The Neutral As Lie Detector: You Can't Judge Participants By Their Demeanor, Bruce Fraser

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

As mediators we are often faced with sharply conflicting stories. One of the advantages of mediation is that we sometimes can solve the underlying problem without determining who did what, to whom, and when. Indeed, experience has shown that mediation is not a good process for finding the truth because it has none of the tools (such as testimony under oath) used for this purpose in the judicial system. Still, mediators often spend a good deal of time and effort trying to determine who is telling the truth.

The Truth About Deception In Mediation, Jeffrey Krivis

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Now that the court system has institutionalized the use of mediation in virtually all civil proceedings, trial lawyers are paying closer attention to their negotiation skills. While those skills involve less structured behavior than presenting a case to a jury, they nonetheless involve one common strategy that even the most skilled practitioners refuse to acknowledge: deception.

Journeys Into The Heart Of Conflict, Kenneth Cloke

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This is an excerpt from a forthcoming book by Mr. Cloke. Sweet, indeed, are the uses of adversity, yet this sweetness is often concealed in the ugly, venomous aspects of conflict. The "precious jewels" our conflicts contain are the deeper truths they are able to teach us. What prevents us from recognizing these deeper truths and learning from our conflicts? What drives us along ugly, venomous paths of aggression and self-destruction rather than dialogue and constructive engagement? What keeps us locked in impasse? And how can a deeper understanding of the origin of our conflicts help us locate these precious …

Getting To The Heart Of The Matter - Taking Risks That Honor Yourself And Your Work, Linda E. Meyer

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

I am here to talk to you about what got you into this profession in the first place. And that was a feeling. A feeling that is very hard to articulate, except maybe to yourself. It was a sense that there was something here for you that was new, that was different, that was amazing, and that you could actually be part of a process where things happened and changed. You could be respected. You could be honored. You could feel that you had actually done something that made a difference. I want to tell you that is why I …

Negotiating Part-Time Work: An Examination Of How Attorneys Negotiate Part-Time Arrangements At Elite Law Firms , Audrey J. Lee

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article first provides background information pertaining to recent research on gender in negotiation and prior studies on part-time work at law firms. The author then discusses the methodology and sample of the current study of part-time work arrangements of attorneys at elite law firms in one major metropolitan legal market. Next the article describes the current study's results with respect to whether attorneys viewed this situation as an opportunity to negotiate, measured by their preparation, and whether attorneys' approaches were impacted by the existence of objective criteria, viewed here as the firm's part-time policy. The author then provides prescriptive …

Democracy And Diversity, John Payton

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Immunizing Arbitrators From Claims For Equitable Relief, Michael D. Moberly

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The article begins with a summary of the historical origins of the judicial and arbitral immunity doctrines. Next, the article discusses the courts' refusal to extend judicial immunity to claims for declaratory, injunctive, or other equitable relief, except perhaps in the case of federal judges. The article then explores the propriety of recognizing a similar limitation in cases construing the arbitral immunity doctrine. The article ultimately concludes that (1) arbitrators should be immune from claims for equitable relief as a matter of policy, and (2) in jurisdictions where that result is currently precluded by existing precedent, a comparable result can …

Lawyers, Faith, And Peacemaking: Jewish Perspectives Of Peace, Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

We can only consider the role of peacemaking in Jewish law after examining the meaning and place of peace. Accuracy prevents me from opening with some platitude about how peace occupies a central, pivotal position in Jewish thought. It doesn't. Peace and peacemaking have a curious habit of not turning up in the middle of things, but all the way at the end. There are too many instances of this to be coincidental. There are nineteen blessings in the Amidah, the central (indeed!) prayer that Jews recite three times a day, every weekday of their lives. The very last …

Case Studies: The Ways To Achieve More Effective Negotiations, Renee A. Pistone

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

For many lawyers, deciding which negotiation strategy to employ depends on the specific context of a negotiation. In fact, the attorney faces a complex choice in their selection from among the different negotiation strategies and must frequently negotiate any particular matter using a combination of more than one negotiation strategy. Most lawyers use the art of negotiation as a tool in their daily practice. The trend is that many attorneys and clients decide to negotiate their disputes themselves rather than have a Judge make the decision, due to the cost and delay. Hence, there is increased pressure to negotiate and/or …

The Negotiator-As-Professional: Understanding The Competing Interests Of A Representative Negotiator, Trevor C. W. Farrow

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article is about lawyers as negotiators, and in particular, it is about identifying and understanding the influential and potentially competing interests that are - or at least should be - in the minds of lawyers (and potentially other third party representatives) during the overall negotiation process. While there continues to be an increasing amount of literature on the mechanics and strategies of negotiation, the underlying interests that are typically at stake in representative negotiations from the perspective of representatives - particularly negotiations involving lawyers - have not been adequately studied. And until all interests are identified and placed squarely …

Style Vs. Model: Why Quibble? , Susan Oberman

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article raises some of the questions necessary to address criticisms about quality and ethics of mediation practices: (Part I) Is there a "mandate" to provide informal justice through mediation? (Part II) Why challenge the generic mediation mythology? (Part III) Does naming differences as 'styles' result in greater clarity? (Part IV) Is mediation fulfilling its "mandate" to serve the court? (Part V) What are the obstacles to changing the dominant discourse on mediation? (Part VI) In answering these questions, an alternative framework is proposed to shift the current discourse about generic mediation based on artistry or style, to a discourse …

Solo Practice: What You Need To Know Before You Consider Hanging A Shingle, David Will, Robert Mcniff, Greg Parent, Janet Hill, Susan Cartier Liebel, University Of Georgia School Of Law, Black Law Students Association

Working in the Public Interest Conferences

In rural and urban communities alike, solo practitioners meet demand for services such as probate, divorce, immigration; their connections to the community can serve a very significant public interest role. But new solo practitioners face legal and financial liabilities in hanging their shingle, and undertaking such a role proves much more complex than hanging a shingle (or in this day and age, launching a website).

A panel of new and experiences solo practitioners will discuss stumbling blocks they have encountered and reflect on knowledge and experience necessary for going solo.

Alternative Careers: Alumni Perspectives On Their Nontraditional Careers, Thomas Rawlings, Benjamin George, David Shillcutt

Working in the Public Interest Conferences

Can you really do anything with a law degree? Georgia Law graduates are working in government, policy, business, the nonprofit sector, and as consultants and entrepreneurs. A panel of Georgia Law graduates working in non-traditional positions at various stages in their careers reflect on how they transitioned into these roles and the ways in which they draw on their legal training and experience in non-legal roles.

Regaining Momentum, Pat K. Chew

UMKC Law Review

No abstract provided.