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Arbitration & Mediation

CKA Mediation and Arbitration Services Blog

All aspects of alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration and recent developments in Georgia law.
By Christopher Annunziata

Post Frequency: 1.7/day

Last Entry: May 27, 2010 at 13:22:25

Why bother with mediation when you have the Internets?

Posted on September 10, 2008
Tomorrow, I start scouring the want ads in our local legal daily newspaper because a new website has rendered my mediation skills obsolete. SideTaker.com is certain to revolutionize dispute resolution in the age of Web 2.0 and the Internets. Fighting with your significant other? Who’s right and who’s wrong? Air it out anonymously while letting people [...

To keep or not to keep?.

Posted on September 09, 2008
A few weeks back, I had an interesting chat with a colleague about record keeping. I was observing a mediation for my domestic requirement and noticed that the mediator archived the notes from the session. I, on the other hand, destroyed my notes. When asked about it, the mediator responded that he [...

Difficulty Dealing With the Dichotomy.

Posted on August 29, 2008
This week, I had a lot of difficulty dealing with the dichotomy between Mediator and Lawyer. I spent 14 of the last 15 years studying or practicing law and thinking (and acting) like a lawyer. It is a difficult habit to break. Of the 6 court-referred cases I handled this week, 4 were collections [...

You Think That Jury Will Do Right by You? Think Again.

Posted on August 22, 2008
In the case the upcoming article in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies did not convince you that you are usually better off negotiating a resolution of your dispute (whether with the help of a mediator or not), legal blog Swordplay lists 10 Acts of Lunacy by Jurors that might make you think twice [...

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What?s in a Name?

Posted on August 20, 2008
Fellow Mediator-blogger-teacher Dina Lynch Eisenberg does an interesting job examining exactly what makes a good name for your mediation business. Dina’s own practice started with a deeply personal (but in my opinion, not terribly descriptive) name and transformed to a more descriptive but more institutional sounding name...

Study Shows That Settlements Result in Better Outcomes for Both Parties

Posted on August 13, 2008
A few weeks ago, I noted in passing that I had mediated several cases in a row in which the plaintiff walked away from reasonable settlement offers, only to have the court find in favor of the defendant. It turns out that this is actually a common occurrence...

Differing Types of Logic May Affect Negotiation

Posted on August 12, 2008
Stephanie West Allen has an interesting post over on Idealawg about how differing problem solving styles may affect communication, goal setting and mediation. Stephanie then asked several of us whether mediation is causal or effectual. I was quite amazed to learn that there were different types of logic - causal and effectual...

WhoCanISue.com - a sign of the Apocalypse?

Posted on August 08, 2008
Albert Einstein is said to have remarked, ?It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.? I cannot find a source indicating to what he was referring (it was likely the atomic bomb), but it could just as easily been about WhoCanISue...

Dyslexic UK MEDICAL student claims multiple answer test unfair.

Posted on August 07, 2008
From Overlawyered. You know what I think is unfair (at least to you and me)? DYSLEXIC DOCTORS! It is bad enough when apparently normal doctors confuse a prescribed 10cc dose of Heparin with a 10,000cc dose. I’m sorry, but for some reason this one steams me...

The Audacity of Desperation?

Posted on August 06, 2008
It started out like a normal, court referred medation. A tenant on a month-to-month lease moved out of the property without proper notice, and owing at least one month’s back rent. The landlord claimed it was two months, plus the month the law allowed her to claim for the tenant’s failure to provide proper notice...

Vickie Pynchon?s Virgin Blawg Review Post

Posted on August 06, 2008
If you’ve got about 14 hours to kill, scoot on over to the IP ADR Blog to read Vickie Pynchon’s “Virgin Themed” Blawg Review. If you decide to click on every hyperlink, you might need some of this. Since I am a busy busy man, I decided to read the much shorter 6-hour version on [...

Why Nobody REALLY Reads Law Review Notes.

Posted on August 01, 2008
About a month ago, Prof. Moffitt of ADR Prof Blog suggested that I read Erica Fox?s Harvard Negotiation Law Review Note ?Alone in the Hallway?. After some serious Googling could not locate the article, one of his kind readers posted a link to a copy (See Comments)...

The Importance of Choosing a Professional Mediator

Posted on July 31, 2008
During my Monday sessions at a local Magistrates (read:Small Claims) Court, I must often stop the proceedings to explain to the pro se litigants that I am not a judge. This despite the fact that this is set forth in the guidelines each party must read and sign, and the fact that I say this [...

Maybe They Should Make ADR Mandatory at Michigan Law?

Posted on July 29, 2008
From Above the Law, everyone’s favorite gossipy tabloig, comes a cautionary tale of how not to handle a business dispute with your law school classmate: Don’t send a passive aggressive “Uhm, it’s been six months where’s my cash” email to everyone on the Law School’s listserv...

The Story of A Sign

Posted on July 22, 2008
The Story of a Sign This short film won an award at Cannes this year. Take a moment to watch and then reflect on the simple power of language. With a stroke of the pen, a stranger transforms the afternoon for another man in this emotionally stirring short film by Alonso Alvarez.

If they?d only hired a mediator?.

Posted on July 17, 2008
Courtesy of Legal Antics:

Completely OT - I?m lost watching LOST.

Posted on July 17, 2008
A good friend finally browbeat us into watching the TV phenomenon Lost by providing us with Season 1 on DVD. Since it’s the summer, and there is precious little to watch (yes, my wife, who works in TV, and I watch too much TV, but I get tired of reading, writing and mediating all day), [...

Ready for the Wonderful World of Domestic Mediation (I think).

Posted on July 15, 2008
It’s official. I am now “registered” with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution as a Domestic Relations Mediator. I can now begin applying for inclusion on the various court rosters as a domestic mediator.

?Winning at Mediation? - Nancy Hudgins? Excellent Resource for Advocates

Posted on July 10, 2008
Fellow blogger and mediator Nancy Hudgins has compiled her excellent blog series on preparing for mediation into a fantastic monograph called “Winning” at Mediation: A Blueprint for Success. It’s a well organized primer for any attorney (or the lay person mediating pro se)...

Settlement is Not Always the Desired Outcome

Posted on July 09, 2008
Over at Mediation Stuff, experienced litigator-cum-mediator John Lassey writes, The Goal of Mediation Is Not (Necessarily) Settlement. He suggests that many would find this statement heretical. I don’t. I could not agree more. When I took my first mediation class, I heard someone suggest that the lawyer/mediators needed to learn how to stop being advocates for [...

ADR - a major motion picture from Martin Scorcese.

Posted on July 09, 2008
Courtesy of Legal Antics: Apparently, these kids at George Washington don’t have a Torts final or Law Review Note to write. Share This

Construction Litigation Cases Are Starting to Clog the Docket.

Posted on July 01, 2008
Is this the harbinger of more hard times to come or might it be a good sign for the economy? I’ve been seeing a fair bit of construction and real estate related cases lately. I think it is safe to say that litigation in real estate and construction cases increases as the economy worsens...

I?m not sure you could pay me enough

Posted on June 28, 2008
to mediate Brit and K-Fed’s custody debacle. Whoever did is a braver soul than I. Share This

In Further Praise of the Joint Session.

Posted on June 25, 2008
Last week, Geoff Sharp admitted to sitting on a draft post which modestly “lazy mediators don’t do joint sessions” or “lazy mediators only meet in private”. It appears that the gist of his post is that anyone can be an errand boy, but it takes a special kind of mediator to force the parties to [...

George Carlin - Funniest Footnote in Supreme Court History.

Posted on June 23, 2008
One of the smartest, wittiest, funniest, and most insightful (inciteful?) comedians and, yes, philosophers of our time passed yesterday at age 71. I guess that now that I am approaching 40, 71 seems far too young to die, especially in this day and age when they can cure such horrible, terrible, life threatening diseases such [...

Where I?ve Been?.

Posted on June 19, 2008
I know some of you are wondering why I haven’t posted in a while. It’s a combination of being busy mediating cases, trying to meet the requirements to get registered as a domestic relations mediator and simply having summeritis. I’ve been reading - some professional articles but mostly pleasure reading- and just haven’t been [...

Is Court-Referred Mediation ?Fair??

Posted on June 09, 2008
As I was shuttling parties in and out of our room today during a court-referred mediation, I passed by a couple on a bench. They were either awaiting assignment to a mediator or were in mediation, but had stepped out of the room to allow caucus. (This courthouse has only 3 rooms for [...

Mindfulness, MediTation and Mediation

Posted on June 06, 2008
Stephanie West Allen of idealawg emailed me about an interesting blog post entitled, Mindfulness Meditation: For Lawyers? In the post, lawyer/psychologist Delaney Dean discusses a bar presentation in Kansas City called “Mindfulness in Mediation...

Numwhah?

Posted on June 01, 2008
I know it isn’t Friday, but this just had to be posted. One of my geeky guilty pleasures is watching the National Spelling Bee every year. It has everything: drama, bad posture, strange words. The moment of this year’s competition, and possibly ANY year’s competition came from the eventual winner, Sameer Mishra: Enjoy [...

Mediation ?Reality? TV Revisited

Posted on May 29, 2008
The concept of the mediation-themed reality TV show has reared its ugly head yet again. As noted by Geoff Sharp and Vickie Pynchon, Jerry Lazar and Richard Kilnger (who makes a guest appearance in my comment section to defend the concept but conveniently forgets to mention he has a “piece of the [...

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