When I meet with people who are frequently involved in mediations in a variety of roles, we often talk shop and discuss trends in the profession. After conferring with my colleagues, both at Cooper Mediation and generally in the personal injury and insurance practice areas,...
Our story begins with Vance Cooper transitioning out of his legal practice to focus on mediation. Building a strong reputation for his tact and ability to handle complex matters, he became a much sought-after mediator. Serving as a trusted mentor to Jon Cooper and Logan Cooper, who...
Everybody makes mistakes. That’s why they put erasers on pencils. Of course, when we make mistakes, we hope they’re small ones that no one will notice or that won’t take much time or money to fix. Unfortunately, mistakes in mediation can be costly, waste the participants’...
As smoke billows up from the laboratory where vials of brightly coloured chemicals bubble, with a devilish cackle, the Mad Scientist boasts: “It’s alive! It’s alive! Muah ha ha!” We don’t yet know what kind of monstrosity has been born from his careless and risky experimentation, but it’s a safe bet...
Bruce Springsteen (a.k.a. “The Boss”) first released the title track of his album Born to Run in the summer of 1975. For 44 years, he’s been playing the hit to different audiences around the world. Assuming he plays “Born to Run” every night of every...
In classical mediation training, educators and students learn to distinguish between positions and interests. It may be in both parties’ interest to settle a dispute before going to court, but their position on the matter at hand may make this option difficult to achieve. In...
Advocates frequently “pound the table” when making a point – usually figuratively, but sometimes literally. Making your point forcefully is certainly one way to command attention. But, is it the best way to achieve your goal in mediation? In personal injury and insurance litigation, mediation normally...
Originally published as a paper, read in full [PDF]. Imagine staring up at the flight board at the departure gate in a airport. You’d hope to see the list of flights awash in green lettering saying “On time.” But if you cast your eyes up and...
“I'm being reasonable!” – “They're not being reasonable!” “If they made a reasonable offer, I would make a reasonable offer!” Inevitably and frequently, the word “reasonable” comes up at every mediation. People are bound to view their own negotiation positions and movements as reasonable but frequently...
Multi-party mediations involving multiple plaintiffs, multiple defendants, or both, present an added layer of complexity to the substantive issues under discussion. At minimum, it requires extra effort to try to “herd the cats” when there are more than two parties at the table. Multiple plaintiffs can...