All successful mediations are alike; each unsuccessful mediation is unsuccessful in its own way.
OK, maybe you are more familiar with the actual first sentence of Leo Tolstoy’s 1878 novel Anna Karenina:
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family
Ain’t No Fairy Godmother Coming To Help You
By Teddy Snyder
I see parties in mediation who seem to think the facts and law of their case will magically change. They act like their position is the only tenable one; they give no credence to an opposing view. They don’t prepare…
Five Ethical Guideposts for Mediation Success
By Teddy Snyder
Despite a continuing plea for civility from pretty much every professional quarter, many parties come to mediation with a Rambo mentality. Keeping certain ethical guideposts in mind is a better way to efficiently settle.
Honesty
California lawyers are bound by…
The Minor Injury Blows Up Again
By Teddy Snyder
While there are a number of points of differentiation, a new opinion from the Iowa Court of Appeals again demonstrates the value of settling and getting out early.
I’ve Seen This Before
Employee Heather Blasdell injured her ankle in November…
Remote Video Mediation – What We’ve Learned Since 2020
By Teddy Snyder
In October 2000, I created a presentation for CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar) entitled Quelling Fear of Video Mediation. Since then, mediators and participants have become more comfortable and more adept in using video platforms. And we’ve all…
Judging Mediation Competitions
One of the more fun things I do as mediator is judge mediation competitions. There are many around the world, but I primarily go to two of them:
- The International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France
- The IBA-VIAC CDRC in
…
Be Sure to File Your EEO-1 with the EEOC
The EEO-1 is a form required to be filed by most employers with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission annually. This form reports the demographic breakdown of a company’s workforce, such as race, ethnicity, sex, and job category. This allows the…
How To Balance the Scales of Justice
By Teddy Snyder
We’re all familiar with the symbol: Lady Justice carrying the balance scales. She holds a sword and sometimes is blindfolded to show a lack of prejudice. In most depictions the scales are balanced. She has righted the scale to dispense…
How to Make the Perfect Offer
By Teddy Snyder
You know the case should settle. Why won’t the other side agree to your offer? Here are some tips for creating the perfect offer. I’m going to refer to both offers and demands as offers to settle in this article.…
Workers Comp Litigation Guidelines Should Define These Four Settlement Triggers
By Teddy Snyder
Civil litigators tend to observe certain guideposts as mediation triggers, such as the closing of discovery, setting of a trial date, or an order from the court to use mediation. Because about 95% of civil cases settle before trial, mediation…