In the recent edition of the Journal of Dispute Resolution, Magistrate Judge Wayne Brazil writes about how “spiritual fatigue” can affect seasoned mediators. His thesis is that staying centered emotionally and behaviorally in core purposes and principles of mediation can lower the level of psychic strain that this work can impose on mediators and can serve as a significant source of renewable professional energy.

He identifies the following areas to consider:

1. Denial - one source of fatigue is the fear of admitting that it exists, since we are in a position of being a “force” for good;

2.  Repetition of Process - Our energy might no longer be stimulated by the challenges of mastering new mediator skills as the novelty has worn off and boredom sets in;

3. The Psychic Strain of Being at the Center of the Vortex - the relentless and intense psychic demands that remaining at the center o the mediation process can impose on us. He suggests that we stop seeing ourselves at the center;

4.  Infection by the Parties’ Fatigue - our fatigue might by a product of the fatigue felt by the parties, particularly repeat players to the process;

5.  Exaggerated Expectations of the Parties to the Process - we may be artificially sapping our own energy by expecting too much of the parties and lawyers, as well as the process;

6.  Exaggerated Expectations of Ourselves - we sometimes exaggerate our ability, our contribution, and our responsibility;

7. Sources of Sustaining Energy - Being transparent about ourselves and the process, actively soliciting the participation of the parties and lawyers in decisions about how to structure their cases, and what steps to take at important junctures in the proceedings;

8. Accessing the Energy that is in the Values and Purposes that Animate our Commitment to this Work - we need to reconnect with three animating truths about our work: (1) the process we use and the spirit of the work is important; (2) the vast majority of the people we serve respect and are grateful for what we do and believe they have benefitted from the process we have hosted; (3) our work does in fact teach listening, acknowledging and engaging communication and fostering connections.

Attached is the the plaintiff’s opening brief in the Supreme Court case on meal and rest breaks.

brinker-opening-brief 

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, made history last night by winning the election as the first African-American president of the United States.

“To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn — I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too,” said Obama, adressing supporters of the Republican McCain/Pallin ticket.

In his concession speech, Senator John McCain Senator extended his support to President-Elect Obama, stating, “I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.”

With the support of a grant from the California Bar Foundation and assistance from the State Bar of California, Office of Legal Services, Access and Fairness staff, the Public Interest Clearinghouse and the State Bar announced recently that ForeclosureInfoCA.org, a central repository for public resources and attorney volunteer opportunities, has gone live. 

 This site has a host of services including: 1) listing agencies and organizations providing mortgage foreclosure assistance to consumers; 2) linking with http://www.probono.net/ca/and listing the attorney volunteer opportunities available at legal services programs, HUD counseling agencies, local bars and LRS’s interested in using volunteer attorneys to address mortgage foreclosure issues on behalf of home owners and renters; and 3) providing consumer education on mortgages, loans and the foreclosure process.

Ideas for additional ForeclosureInfoCA.org resources, should be directed to Siobhan Waldron, Public Interest Clearinghouse at swaldron@pic.org.

In an effort to encourage drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a law making it illegal to read or send text messages while driving in California.  This follows another recent cell phone restriction making it mandatory for motorists to use hands-free devices while driving.

The bill imposes a $20 fine for a first offense and $50 for repeat offenders “using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication,” which includes e-mails.

Enforcing this bill should prove challenging to officers on the road. Theoretically, just looking over at a PDA while driving could be interpreted as reading a text message and cause for a citation. If you see drivers frequently pulling over to the side of the street after January 1, 2009, with heads bowed down, you’ll know why.

As Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, reports in an interesting article published in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, the Internet is proving a treasure trove of insight into the thinking and values of those called for jury duty.

Online social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are becoming commonly used as an easily accessible tool to ferret out information that can be used to have an unwanted individual struck from the jury. For example, Marshall Hennington, a psychologist who does work as a jury consultant relays how in a recent murder case, a jury candidate’s Facebook page assisted in getting the juror dismissed for cause. Hennington discovered that although the juror denied knowing a fellow potential juror, his Facebook page revealed that they not only knew each other but were cousins. The article goes on to explain:

Hennington has no qualms about plumbing the Internet for information damaging to the opposition.”They’re not giving me a call because they have a slam-dunk case. Clients call me because they know they have a difficult case and need to sell it to the jurors,” Hennington said. As long as the information obtained about a juror is publicly available and of use to a client, “everything is fair game,” he said. “This is war.”

We’re excited to announce the launching of our newly redesigned website and blog. We hope you’ll visit regularly and find information that is both helpful and of interest.

You can find all of our archived articles and newsletters on the website in a new easy searchable format.  If you check back in the near future, you’ll see that we’ll also be adding podcasts on Improvisational Negotiation for those who enjoy “reading” on the go. 

Since we’re big on balance, you can be sure to find posts on our our blog that not only cover significant events in the legal field but also topics of personal interest to us.   We welcome your feedback and comments and look forward to hearing from you!

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