Tag Archives: Empirical Research

Video and Powerpoints from Fabulous St. Thomas DSD Symposium

As I mentioned in a recent post, the University of St. Thomas Law School held a terrific symposium on November 13, entitled Dispute System Design: Justice, Accountability and Impact. They have posted a video of the symposium as well as powerpoints from most of the presentations. Kudos to Mariana Hernandez Crespo, Heidi Van De Berg, … Continue reading Video and Powerpoints from Fabulous St. Thomas DSD Symposium

Why and How Corporations Use PEDR – Preliminary Findings

On Friday, I was honored to join the all-star cast – including keynoter Lisa Blomgren Amsler, Jackie Font-Guzmán, Susan Franck, Tim Hedeen, Mariana Hernandez Crespo, Jan Martinez, Jackie Nolan-Haley, Jen Reynolds, Colin Rule, Andrea Schneider, Nancy Welsh, and Maureen Weston – at St. Thomas Law School’s Symposium, Dispute System Design: Justice, Accountability and Impact. I … Continue reading Why and How Corporations Use PEDR – Preliminary Findings

Missouri Scholarship Booklet

Tis the season of the US News tournament, when our mailboxes fill with literature touting the achievements of law schools far and wide.  Most of us think that this “game” is seriously flawed and wish our schools didn’t have play the game, but we generally feel compelled to do so because of the significant consequences. … Continue reading Missouri Scholarship Booklet

What Makes Lawyers Happy? – And How Can You Help?

Money can’t buy me love. – Paul McCartney   As a corollary to psychologist McCartney’s insight, money can’t buy lawyers (much) happiness. That’s one of the key findings of Lawrence Krieger and Kennon Sheldon’s impressive study, What Makes Lawyers Happy?: A Data-Driven Prescription to Redefine Professional Success. This post includes excerpts from this article, sans … Continue reading What Makes Lawyers Happy? – And How Can You Help?

Good Anger

An article in the New York Times, The Rationality of Rage, summarizes the findings of several studies about when expressing anger can be productive. Despite the catchy title of the article, expressing rage generally isn’t helpful.  But expressing anger can be useful in some situations. The article distinguishes three types of negotiations – primarily cooperative … Continue reading Good Anger

Satisfaction Through Service

Life can be darn irritating.  In a NYT op-ed piece, Arthur Brooks argues that “When I am working for myself, any disappointing outcome is a stressful, unpleasant reflection on me.  When I am serving, on the other hand, the work is always intrinsically valuable because of its intention.  Adopting a service mind-set guarantees some measure … Continue reading Satisfaction Through Service

Conversation with Peter Benner about PEDR, Part 6

This conversation started with my post about planned early dispute resolution (PEDR).  My friend, Peter Benner, and I exchanged comments in that post.  Here are links to Part 2-ish, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 in this conversation.   I had some questions about Peter’s last post.  Here I pose the questions and Peter responded. … Continue reading Conversation with Peter Benner about PEDR, Part 6

Conversation with Peter Benner about PEDR, Part 5

This conversation started with my post about planned early dispute resolution (PEDR).  My friend, Peter Benner, and I exchanged comments in that post.  Here are links to Part 2-ish, Part 3, and Part 4 in this conversation.  This is Peter’s response to my last post. ________________________________________________ In your question of whether we may be in … Continue reading Conversation with Peter Benner about PEDR, Part 5

Conversation with Peter Benner about PEDR, Part 2-ish

Alert readers have noticed that Peter Benner and I have been having a conversation about planned early dispute resolution (PEDR) in the comments to a recent post of mine on the subject. Peter, a mediator and ironman, is a friend with whom I share an interest in encouraging lawyers and parties – especially businesses – … Continue reading Conversation with Peter Benner about PEDR, Part 2-ish

Damn Emotions!

Have you seen “Inside Out” yet? It’s the delightful Pixar movie portraying the conflicting emotions of an 11 year-old girl grappling with the difficulties of a move from Minnesota to San Francisco. Indeed, the emotions are characters themselves:  Anger, Disgust, Fear, Sadness, and Joy. The film’s producers consulted psychologists who wrote a piece in the … Continue reading Damn Emotions!