Family mediators will want to take note of a decision reported this week by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly regarding the enforceability of premarital agreements in the Commonwealth.

In a case known as Eyster v. Pechenik, a Middlesex Probate and Family Court judge has ruled that a spouse can enforce a premarital agreement in his or her divorce even when the agreement has been drafted by the couple themselves without the assistance of counsel. The agreement will be enforced if there was full disclosure of each parties’ assets prior to its execution, and so long it is fair and reasonable when signed and fair and reasonable when subjected to a “second look” at the time of its enforcement.

According to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the husband drafted the agreement after consulting articles from books, newspapers, and magazines, and both parties opted not to seek the advice of attorneys prior to signing it. Among other things, their agreement provided that property acquired prior to and during the marriage would remain with the party who acquired it. At the time of their divorce, the wife argued that the agreement was ambiguous and therefore unenforceable.

This stands as a cautionary tale not only for couples contemplating marriage but also for mediators who assist couples in negotiating the terms of premarital agreements. There is no doubt that premarital agreements, and the conversations that lead up to their creation, can be a useful means for couples to define how best to divide their assets upon death or divorce. Mediation can play an important role in that process, helping couples make those decisions together.

However, premarital agreements hold significant long-term legal consequences. And informed decision-making is of course integral to the mediation process. Mediators will therefore want to remind their clients of the importance of seeking independent legal advice before signing on the dotted line.

(The decision, alas, is not available for free online, although you can, if you wish, pay to have Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly fax it to you. Warning: MLW will charge you the exorbitant sum of $34.50 to do so. You can also read the decision on p. 35 of the print version of the March 27, 2006, edition of MLW.)

Ian Best, the law student I told readers about who is blogging for credit at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, has at last completed his taxonomy of law blogs.

Hunting through Best’s categories is rewarding for anyone whose work is grounded in or shaped by the practice or study of law. Explore at random to sample law blogging in all its seemingly infinite variety. Best’s categories break blogs down in numerous ways, including by state (my home state, Massachusetts, has two) and by specialty.

There’s something for everyone here, mediators included, since Best has included a category for alternative dispute resolution blogs. Visit Best’s blog, 3L Epiphany, to see for yourself. (And congratulations to you, Ian, on a job well done.)

For several years now I’ve served as a trainer in a nationwide dispute management and conflict resolution training program at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola’s bottling business. This ambitious program will train over 40,000 managers and employees at all levels of the company in mediation and conflict resolution skills.

I was therefore fascinated to learn through Neville Hobson’s blog about the efforts of the Coca-Cola Company to use blogging as a medium for its employees to share their views and give feedback on Coke’s “Manifesto for Growth“–its vision and mission, together with its values. Employees around the world will be invited to join the conversation.

Meanwhile, high-level executives of other companies, large and small, should ask themselves what they could be doing to get the conversation going with their own employees. After all, getting people talking can get people motivated.

(Via Kevin O’Keefe at Real Lawyers Have Blogs.)

Speaking of problem solving, this week’s podcast at Negotiating Tip of the Week poses a fun problem-solving puzzle, featuring a debt-ridden merchant, his beautiful and clever daughter, an unscrupulous moneylender–and pebbles.

Back in December I introduced readers to ChangeThis, which I described this way:

ChangeThis…[is] a web site born of a radical and hopeful idealism: to virally transmit ideas through a culture medium of community, respect, and dialogue.

Recognizing that “the best discussions in science, medicine, business and politics have always been the civil ones”, ChangeThis publishes what it calls manifestos–proposals for change which serve as “a reasoned, rational call to action, supported by logic and facts”. The goalis to provide a forum for “the rational and thoughtful arguments that help people change their minds to a more productive point of view.“

Sound intriguing? Be sure to visit this site. And while you’re there, download “Thinking Through Problem Solving” a recently published manifesto written by Valarie A.Washington, CEO of Think 6, a strategic consulting company. Washington’s manifesto offers fresh ideas on problem solving which conflict resolution practitioners will find value in.

Of particular interest are Washington’s insights into the obstacles that inhibit successful problem solving. These include the Einstellung Effect–the extent to which habit or experience hampers our ability to see alternative solutions to a problem–and the Dispositional Effect, which accounts for the disconnect between our ability to address the problem and our will to do so, along with our difficulty in recognizing that there’s a problem in the first place.

Washington ultimately proposes a new model for addressing problems: the Ladder of Problem Solving, a non-linear way of thinking about problems which provides impetus for groups “to develop personal accountability, collaborative problem solving, and growth.”

As Einstein once said–and Washington quotes–”We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that we used when we created them. “

I’m going to be out of town on business until late next week so Online Guide to Mediation will be taking a brief break, but I did want to leave my readers with something to amuse themselves with while I was away. What follows are a sampling of mediation-related blog posts from the past week or so, along with announcements of two conferences.

Conflict Resolution Network Canada is sponsoring Interaction 2006, “Dialogue, Dispute Resolution and Democracy”, a conflict resolution conference to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from June 7-10, 2006. Information and registration details are available online.

Meanwhile, the University of Toledo College of Law will host an international symposium on “Enhancing Worldwide Understanding through Online Dispute Resolution“, scheduled for April 21-22, 2006, in Toledo, Ohio, coinciding with the 5th Anniversary of the International Competitions for Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR).

Curious to learn more about specific applications for online dispute resolution, especially how successful ODR programs work? Human Law walks readers through the dispute resolution process eBay utilizes in “eBay - A model of dispute resolution for our jaded legal system“.

One blog I visit frequently because of the excellent internet resources it points me toward is Inter Alia, published by Tom Mighell. Most recently Tom linked to the Workplace Prof Blog, along with an article he wrote for the ABA’s Law Practice Today listing workplace, labor, employment, and human resource web sites ideal for the ADR professional or attorney whose work focuses on this practice area.

Joel Schoenmeyer of Death and Taxes continues his survey of web sites and resources relating to mediation in estate planning and probate. Joel, who writes frequently on ADR, collects his ADR-related posts here. (With many thanks to Joel for his kind mention of Online Guide to Mediation, along with the link to the Online Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs I launched earlier this week.)

Wondering when the best time to schedule that mediation may be? Paying attention to Circadian rhythms may be integral to our ability to negotiate effectively, according to this post from Geoff Sharp. I like Geoff’s suggestion that mediators include an “are you a morning person or a night owl” question on their client intake form. While you’re visiting Geoff’s blog, mediator blah…blah, read Geoff’s post on why mediators can’t trust anyone when it comes to their notes.

Bill Warters, who always has the world’s greatest ADR links at his Campus ADR Tech Blog, has done it again with this post on “Training Modules on Conflict Resolution from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention“, with plenty of materials and ideas for conflict resolution trainers regardless of the focus of their work. And conflict resolution trainers intent on offering maximum value to clients should read this post by David Maister on “Why Training Is Useless” (via Dennis Kennedy).

One of the questions that always comes up in mediation training is the use of joint versus private sessions with parties. Should parties be encouraged to keep working together? Should they be separated immediately? Every mediator has their own philosophy about this. Some of us actively practice shuttle diplomacy, carrying messages back and forth between private meeting rooms. Others never meet individually with parties but keep them working together at the negotiation table. My own approach is flexible–to do whatever it is that works and whatever it takes. Stephen Raymond at Perspectives of a Mediator/Arbitrator contemplates mediator styles in a recent post and includes sound advice to anyone choosing a mediator: it’s important to ask about the mediator’s own approach to mediation practice.

Since launching the Online Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs earlier this week, I have been introduced to several new mediation and negotiation blogs. These include How to Negotiate, as well as Mediation Mindset by Anthony Cerminaro, who also publishes the popular BizzBangBuzz (say that ten times fast) and Strategic Business Lawyer. I appreciate the fact that Anthony’s new mediation blog features a nice list of mediation-related blogs in his sidebar (including Online Guide to Mediation–thanks, Anthony!). I’d like to see more ADR bloggers do the same and spread that link love around, especially since there are so few of us out here blogging about ADR. In addition, I heard from Kristina Haymes, who has let me know that she publishes two (count ‘em) blogs on mediation and ADR: Making Peace Mediation and Mediation Marketing Tips.

Mediators looking for ideas on using technology to build their business or make life easier will want to see part 2 of Tammy Lenski’s series on autoresponders at MediatorTech, as well as this post from I [Heart] Tech’s on “The Perfect Companion for your Word Processor: AutoMATE“.

By the way, if you stop by Tammy’s other blog, Strategic Conversations, you’ll notice that Tammy has found a way to gain some protection for her online content. Visit this post in particular and notice the little yellow icon at the very end of the post, followed by the letters “ESBN” and a series of numbers. It links to Numly, a web site which assigns electronic serial numbers for digital content–what Numly describes as “unique identifiers” which “provide digital rights management capabilities as well as third-party, non-repudiation measures for copyright proof via real-time verifications”.

Although many of us would agree, mediators included, that competitive behavior–the drive to survive–is hardwired into us, cooperation may be just as deeply embedded into our genetic code. Colin Rule, who blogs at the Center for Internet and Society, discusses a recent study on altruistic behavior in chimpanzees and toddlers which suggests that primate have strong tendencies toward cooperation and collaborative behavior. For further details, you can read this story which appeared earlier this month in the Boston Globe or visit the web site of Felix Warneken, the lead author of the study, which includes links to videoclips of the chimpanzees and young children observed in the study.

Speaking of collaboration, Clive Thompson at Collision Detection discusses “Massively Multiplayer Pong,” the latest experiment to probe the wisdom of crowds. In addition, and totally unrelated to ADR, Clive also links to a fun dynamic Einstein photo where you get to choose the text that appears on Einstein’s blackboard, which you can see embellished here with a pro-mediation slogan.

Have a great weekend, everyone. See you all when I get back next week. And, as always, thanks for visiting.

Business travelers, human resources professionals, mediators, and anyone else who actively seeks to develop their global awareness should visit Culturosity, a web site created to advance multicultural learning and support diversity. According to founder Kate Berardo,

Culturosity.com is committed to helping individuals find the resources, experiences, and opportunities that will open their minds and broaden their perspectives. We help people understand global realities and empower them to live and work effectively in a multicultural world.

Culturosity includes a learning center where visitors can download articles on cross-cultural communication, diversity, and cultural awareness (challenge yourself with the Diversity Test), learn about opportunities to travel or study abroad, build their capacity for greater cultural awareness, gain insights into diversity, or explore specific cultures in greater depth. Culturosity links to many useful web sites, including Executive Planet, where international road warriors can download to their Palm handhelds a guide to business culture and etiquette in 45 countries, Diversity Central which focuses upon workplace diversity, and the Alliance for Conflict Transformation, just to name a few.

Culturosity even offers downloadable Pop Culturosity Guides which uses pop culture as a means of transforming day-to-day activities “into intercultural learning opportunities”. There’s plenty here to help all of us connect more meaningfully with the world we inhabit.

Although hundreds of law blogs now populate the Internet, there still exist no more than a handful of alternative dispute resolution blogs. Readers may remember my own efforts from last June to inventory alternative dispute resolution blogs. My survey last year found fewer than 20 ADR blogs, a number of which were no longer active.

Law blogs are so numerous now that they require their own Linnaean system to classify and describe them. Last week I introduced readers to law student Ian Best, whose for-credit blog project includes the creation of a taxonomy of U.S. and Canadian law blogs, which now number 610 strong. The intrepid editors of Blawg Review have embarked upon a law blog project of their own and have announced the creation of “myHQ blawgs“, a collaborative and comprehensive law blog directory. There is also, of course, Blawg.org, a web site tracking law blogs world-wide, which now lists 1233 law-related blogs across 205 categories.

Inspired by the work of both Ian Best and the hard-working editors at Blawg Review, I decided to create an online Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs.

Categories include alternative dispute resolution generally, mediation, arbitration, negotiation, conflict resolution and peacemaking, as well as ADR marketing. I have also created an “ADR Friendly” category for blogs which are not ADR blogs per se but which frequently feature articles on ADR or which are published by individuals who are mediators themselves but whose wide-ranging writing explores different terrain. And, since many of us in the ADR field seek out diverse perspectives, particularly on the global level, I have also added a category for “World Views”, which includes the group blog Global Voices Online.

But I need my readers’ help.

As you will see, as of right now, the list of alternative dispute resolution blogs is short. So, if you know of a blog that should be included, I invite you all to let me know. If your own blog is missing or misspelled, let me know. If a link is broken, let me know. If you want to add a new category, let me know. If you have feedback or ideas…I think you get the idea.

And please spread the word to colleagues and friends. A link back from your own blog would be much appreciated as well. Thanks in advance for supporting this project!

Is it just me, or have law students gotten infinitely more resourceful and creative since my own law school days?

Ian Best, a third-year law student at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, has embarked upon a first-of-its-kind experiment: he’s blogging for credit. Best has undertaken a study of “the growing phenomenon of ‘blawgs,’ the weblogs of lawyers, law professors, and law students”, using 3L Epiphany, the blog he created, as a vehicle through which to explore the legal blogosphere and to report his findings. You can read more about Best’s objectives here.

As part of his research, Best is in the process of developing a taxonomy of legal blogs, broken down by practice areas, which, my mediator friends will be glad to learn, includes a category for alternative dispute resolution.

Best’s innovation does not end there. There’s a footnote (literally) to all this that mediators will appreciate. I’ll let Best explain, as he did in a recent email to me:

I hope you will join me in wishing Ian success in his project and in his law school and legal careers.

One of the greatest rewards of blogging has been the opportunity to meet alternative dispute resolution practitioners from all over the world. And it’s affirming to learn that no matter what latitude we inhabit, we all seem to share a common tongue–the lingua franca of conflict resolvers everywhere. And the differences of course only keep things interesting.

There is much we can all learn from each other with the internet as facilitator for our conversations together. I am therefore honored and pleased to be able to bring to you today a conversation with a respected leader in the mediation field–Ewan Malcolm, Director of the pioneering Scottish Mediation Network based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Ewan guides us through Scotland’s mediation landscape, offering those of us who live elsewhere in the world a unique and in-depth look into the heart and soul of mediation practice there.

Please click here to read my conversation with Ewan. (And with deepest gratitude to Ewan for his generosity and kindness in taking time to share his perspectives and experience with my readers.)

Zapdramatic, the Canadian-based interactive media company, is well known for the online negotiation games and simulations it designs and produces. Its portfolio includes “The Raise” and “The Angry Neighbor”, a mediation game (links to these games and others can be found online here).

Its web site now features a brand new interactive negotiation adventure, “Move or Die,” a film noir animation in which players assume the role of a hitchhiker who has to negotiate his way through perils which include an ethically-challenged brother-and-sister pair, a dead body carrying $10,000 cash, and a trapdoor to man-eating piranhas (all in a day’s work for your typical negotiator).

This negotiation game is currently available for free to visitors to Zapdramatic’s web site. Other interactive dramas can be found here.

For divorced or separating parents, finding ways to come up with a workable visitation plan is tough enough when they live in close geographic proximity to each other. But it can be heartbreakingly frustrating for parents and children alike when many miles or even time zones lie between.

Mediators and attorneys who work with families and couples struggling with divorce may wish to explore Virtual Visitation, which offers innovative ways to stay connected through the use of digital technology.

For a primer on Virtual Visitation, stop by InternetVisitation.org, where you can watch a video to see two examples of Virtual Visitation in action, find information and updates on Virtual Visitation legislation, or learn how to get started with virtual visiting. You can even find a link to Virtual Families and Families, a blog which explores the wide range of applications for virtual visits.

As InternetVisitation.org cautions, Virtual Visitation should be used to supplement, not substitute for, face-to-face, quality time with loved ones. But it can be a great way to remain involved in the daily routines of children and other family members, regardless of time and distance.

In addition, here’s a link to “6 Ways to Make ‘Virtual Visitation’ Work“, which includes tips on creating a web page for your child as a means of sharing ideas and family news.

(Many thanks to Bob Ambrogi’s Law Sites for the link and the inspiration.)

Feelings and ideas are renewed, the heart enlarged, and the understanding developed only by the reciprocal action of men one upon another.

~ Alexis de Tocqueville

If words make up only 7 percent of our communication, as some researchers have claimed, then actions do indeed speak louder than words. Our facial expressions in particular must surely speak volumes.

This means that we must listen closely not only to what is said but to all that is unspoken–to attend closely to facial expressions to gain insight into the deeper meaning that awaits us.

Curious to learn how skillful you are at correctly interpreting facial expressions? Then try your hand (and eye) at the Facial Expressions Test, based on “The Micro Expression Training Tool” developed by Paul Ekman, Ph.D., an expert on nonverbal behavior and for 32 years a professor of psychology at the University of California at San Francisco.

For more nonverbal (and verbal) challenges, visit Exploring Nonverbal Communication, a web site of the University of California at Santa Cruz, which allows visitors to test their understanding of facial expressions, gestures, and much more.

(With many thanks to my friend Geoff Sharp for generously passing the link to the Facial Expressions Test along to me.)