Two fascinating follow-up studies, one conducted by the Supreme Court Administrative Office (SCAO), and another by the ABA Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, provide significant insights on the mediation process and the timing of ADR that mediators and litigators should consider.  Before discussing these follow-ups, let’s quickly review the initial studies In the first ABA […]

Divorce is never a one size fits all process. However, when the parties to a domestic matter are culturally or otherwise diverse, lawyers should take even more care to address the unique needs of the parties. It goes without saying that, within any group, people are unique and no one group has all the same […]

The season is upon us. Alas, not summer but the season of apologies. Like pollen in the air, apologies proliferate. Brought to the forefront by the #MeToo movement, apologies are everywhere and not just limited to controversies over sex harassment. The problem is too many of the apologies we see are half-baked and insincere. Apology […]

In the 2014 – 15 school year there were 1300 expulsions from Michigan schools. Greater than 50% of those expulsions lasted more than 180 calendar days, over half the school year. Students who are expelled or suspended often struggle academically, are more likely to drop out, get in trouble, and may eventually end up in […]

What does being “civil” mean generally, and at mediation? Webster defines “Civility” as “politeness – a civil or polite act or utterance.” “Polite” is defined as “having or showing cultured or good taste; polished; refined – having or showing good manners; courteous, considerate, tactful, etc.” This is generally how we have, or should have, been […]

With the advent of email communications and electronic document storage, even a simple business dispute can generate an extraordinary number of documents during discovery. When you add in cloud storage, where the number of documents that can be stored and the temporal scope of such storage are virtually unlimited, a business dispute can often involve […]