We have always been told that parties are in a settlement mode at the end of the year, around the holidays. The plaintiffs are looking for cash for the holiday and are ready to settle their case, even though that may mean they will take less money to set...

The growing Medicare shortfall in Washington has many politicians looking for ways to bridge the funding gap. As a result a new law, effective July 1, 2009, has been enacted which requires liability insurers (which include carriers who write CGL polici...

Counsel can no longer assume that anything that happens, especially written notes, is protected by the confidentiality provision. Even if the parties sign the confidentiality agreement at the beginning of mediation that does not mean that everything is c...

A federal district court judge from the Northern District of California ruled that the government cannot use mismatched Social Security data to root out illegal immigrants from the workforce, declaring that such enforcement actions would do 'irreparable h...

California is seeking to be the first State in the nation to mandate that employee's get paid sick leave and continue to work while using Marijuana for medicinal purposes. At the California State Bar Conference of Delegates in September, California atto...

A complete breakdown of communication can happen in an instant and can be silent and deadly, misdiagnosed as it escalates into conflict. Real time conflict tears at the quality of the work environment. What can be done about this conflict? A realistic g...

The dramatic life of the Murphy case came to a quiet end when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case which signaled the taxation of personal injury damages. The U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit shocked the tax world with its initial Mu...

The California Supreme Court, in Simmons v. Ghaderi (July 21, 2008), has hammered in the last nail and has made confidentiality of mediation proceedings iron clad. The court held that there can be NO implied waiver of mediation confidentiality. An oral...

After forming a new ADR firm, I am always asked the question, why did you choose the name 'Centurion Mediation' for your business? Centurions conjure up images of battles and aggressiveness, not the attributes of a mediator who should be peace buildin...

Last year we saw Crash running away with the Oscar, and was acclaimed for not only the best movie of the year, but for its exposure of race relations, bias and stereotypes in American society. Again this year, Hollywood, has by accident, created incred...

Employers face a dilemma, each year, on which holidays to give off to their employees. Many employers do not give Martin Luther King Jr. birthday as a holiday. They do not want to be seen as racist or close minded, but employers are concerned about maki...

Employers can be liable for secretly placing a video camera in an employee�s office, even if the employer does not view any of the video. An employer must control his watchful eye and use it in limited circumstances. A California employer, who oper...

In the recent years, women have transformed from homemaker to a builder and ultimate decision maker in hiring contractors. This trend has been caused because of the labor shortage in the construction field and increasing number of households headed by si...

Diversity happens when it has a positive impact on the bottom line. This was the overall consensus of representative corporations and law firms this past year at an ABA Dispute Resolution Section Diversity Forum. Mediation is losing its effectiveness b...

California small business employers are creating a hurricane of lawsuits for themselves. With the elimination of vocational rehabilitation under California workers' compensation and after the Raine v. City of Burbank decision in January 2006, Employ...