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No matter what kind of case we mediate, we eventually run across that tough one where one side admits owing money or agrees to pay and they don’t have the means to do it.  Is all hope lost?  Maybe, but maybe not!  Unfortunately many cases like this that could settle don’t because...

As sole arbitrator or chairperson, the IPHC is likely the most important conference you’ll hold with the parties.  It’s typically the first occasion the parties will have with the arbitrators and it may be the first time the arbitrators themselves have met with each other.  The...

A commonly negotiated issue in mediation is who is entitled to take the dependency deduction exemption for the parties’ minor children.  Assuming the child is a qualifying child under 26 USC § 152(e)(1), the custodial parent after a divorce is finalized must use either Form 8332...

It’s the third day of a four-day hearing and everyone’s getting tired.  The parties have worked hard for nine months in preparation for their case and witnesses were brought in from out-of-town.  As you enter the room after lunch you overhear an attorney whispering to his client,...

We can’t help it.  We all bring our past experiences to the table as mediators and many of us (Westerners) view parties and issues from a Western perspective.  But how well does that work when the parties in the mediation are Eastern, Middle Eastern, or African?  Do they view...

The 11th Circuit Court rejected a claim of bias related to interactions between an arbitrator and counsel, citing the interactions were insufficient to warrant impermissible bias on the part of the arbitrator.  The arbitrator and counsel knew each other as two of three founding...

Georgia law provides an arbitrator’s award shall be vacated if the trial court finds the arbitrator manifestly disregarded the law.[1]  At first blush, this sounds straightforward, but it may not be as easy to prove as you think. First, judicial review of arbitration awards under...

There’s plenty to say about a mediator’s mentality, but there is one in particular that I hear over and over from parties — simply put, they wish their mediator had not given up so easily. In one way mediation is a test of “wills”, with the mediators “will” sometimes being...

Effective October 1, 2013, cases filed under AAA’s Commercial Rules will be managed under a new set of rules designed to enhance the efficiency of the case management process and clarify prior rules for both the arbitrator and parties.  Highlights of these changes include...