Featured Articles

What We Think We Know Can Hurt Our Negotiating Position

Victoria Pynchon
October 16, 2008 17:04

I watched the debate last night with people who support my candidate.  They all also happened to be mediators, so they understand concepts like confirmation bias --the tendency to search for or interpret new information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions and avoids information and...

What Makes a Great Legal Blog? For Niki Black It's Passion

Victoria Pynchon
January 14, 2011 16:29

From the Detroit Legal News, Nicole Black on Blawging: It's All About the Passion. Regardless of your goals, there's no point in blogging unless you enjoy the process of writing and have a passion for your subject matter. Otherwise, the blog will fall flat. While it may achieve desired goals of...

Hope, Safety and Innovation

Victoria Pynchon
October 17, 2008 15:11

The first thing we mediators are taught (after digesting the imperative to "be conscious") is that people in conflict need to be in an atmosphere of hope and safety to be able to:  (1)  recognize the point of view of another; (2) be accountable for his/her own "part"...

She Negotiates for Crystal Harris ~ About that Pre-Nup

Victoria Pynchon
December 27, 2010 15:01

The question why Hugh Hefner is marrying his 24 year old girlfriend Crystal Harris has been raised around many a post-Christmas table since Hef popped the question along with the diamond on Christmas Day. Jeez, my 85-year old mother doesn't even have a computer, but the ever-young Hef tweeted his...

The Week in Assholes

Victoria Pynchon
January 06, 2011 15:47

A new regular weekly feature at the Negotiation Law Blog ~ The Week in Assholes. Gawker Calls Scalia an 'A-Hole' as He Questions Women's Rights Under the 14th Amendment at Legal Blog Watch.  I grew up during the "Impeach Earl Warren" days in San Diego, then primarily a Navy and defense...

Negotiating Thanksgiving by Being of Service

Victoria Pynchon
November 25, 2008 17:10

Thanksgiving Day begins a season that reminds many of us that our earliest negotiation experiences were those with our family.  When I was a child, these were the issues on the Thanksgiving bargaining table Who gets to snap the wishbone (does anyone do this anymore?) Who gets to sit...

The Silver Asshole of the Month Award to the Cornell Senior Lecturer and His Anonymous Student

Victoria Pynchon
November 21, 2010 21:12

You may have heard from Legal Blog Watch (here and here) that we're giving a Golden Asshole Award once a month to the individual making the greatest contribution to reducing assholishness in the [legal] profession. See You Park Like an Asshole here.  The prize is a free copy of A is for...

Why Common Sense, Compassion and Listening Twice As Much As You Talk Are The Best Negotiation Strategies In Law and Life

Victoria Pynchon
October 27, 2008 11:30

Guest Blogger - Susan Cartier Liebel First, I'm honored to be guest blogging while Vickie is away campaigning her heart out until November 4. I'm also a little intimidated to be here as I can't speak on negotiation with the authority Vickie can, after all she's a distinguished and honored expert on...

Recent Articles

Success as a Mediator for Dummies to Launch in April!

Victoria Pynchon
March 19, 2012 21:29

Once upon a time, four girls formed a writing club and named it Sisters of the Pen. None of the girls knew any authors. None of their parents, nor most of their parents’ friends, had even attended college. The girls’ mothers knew that their daughters would need to know how to soft...

Women Lawyers-There's An App For That

Victoria Pynchon
March 19, 2012 21:26

There’s been a lot of criticism of law schools during the Great Recession. They charge too much. The job market is saturated. Law school professors know little to nothing about legal practice. Law grads are burdened with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. The education itself is...