In advance of the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, colleague Marty Latz published this column in Politico this week:  Why Trump’s Aggressive Tactics Make Him a Less Effective Negotiator.  Marty argues, after studying his entire career, that while Trump touts his negotiation skills and thinks that this meeting with Putin will be his easiest, he … Continue reading The President’s Negotiation Skills… →

President Trump is scheduled to have a summit meeting with Russian President Putin on Monday.  The timing of this meeting right after the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officials demonstrates the bizarre political situation we are in. Mr. Trump seeks a close relationship with a foreign leader whose top spies systematically interfered in our elections … Continue reading How Should ADR Folks Participate in a Grand Real-Time Negotiation? →

In our field, we specialize in facilitating conversations between people who think differently about things. But even our field has been divided by the question of whether we can or should converse with people who hold particular views. Consider this graphic: (HT to Above the Law. You can click on it to make it bigger.) … Continue reading Can We Talk? Should We? →

I have been getting in touch with lots of friends and colleagues encouraging them to consider using a Stone Soup assignment in one or more of their courses next year. Charity Scott, Georgia State, who used Stone Soup last year once in Negotiation and twice in Mediation, responded with this lovely email. “Nice to hear … Continue reading Charity Scott’s Reflections on Stone Soup →

Whether some problem requires radical change or incremental reform is a familiar tension in law and life. Should we abolish prisons, for example, or should we seek to improve them? Is cold-turkey best for drug addiction, or is a phased approach more effective? Does it make more sense to repeal the Second Amendment than to … Continue reading ADR: Incremental Reform or Radical Change? →