Jonathan Cohen (Florida) has published two articles this summer: The Path Between Sebastian’s Hospitals: Fostering Reconciliation After a Tragedy and Conflicts as Inner Trials: Transitions for Clients, Ideas for Lawyers.

Professor Cohen writes:

“The Path Between Sebastian’s Hospitals: Fostering Reconciliation after a Tragedy” is a multi-year case study of a tragic event – the death of a healthy, three-year-old child from medical error – transformed by the hospital’s apology and the parents’ noble desire to prevent similar harm to other children into the building of a new children’s hospital in their community. It is a deeply inspiring story demonstrating the transformative power of reconciliation. While the particular setting is medical malpractice, the lessons this case holds for lawyers and other dispute resolution professionals are broadly applicable. These include the role of community in conflict resolution, the importance of caring to the vocation of lawyering, of the centrality of non-monetary interests to many clients. There is a significant narrative element to this article, and I hope it will be useful for both research and teaching purposes.

“Conflicts as Inner Trials: Transitions for Clients, Ideas for Lawyers,” 13 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 393 (2012), develops the claim that conflicts are not only times of external strife but also times of internal transition for many parties. Inspired by Professor Robert Mnookin’s recent book, Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight, this article examines some of the more common inner trials parties to conflict face, including coping with loss and trauma, powerful emotions, redefined relationships and uncertainty about the future. As many conflicts are liminal times in clients’ lives, lawyers need to think seriously about how best to counsel persons undergoing such transitions.