Business Conflict Blog

James F. Ring and some colleagues gave a fascinating talk at the recent ABA Dispute Resolution Section on Game Theory.  Where it started was cutting a cake.  Where it ended was cutting out the lawyers, at least by implication.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Ring runs an enterprise called Fair Outcomes, Inc.  His talk was not so much a “sell job” for his company as it was a discourse on the reasons why conventional approaches to negotiation may have serious limitations.

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Tags: Negotiation, systems design

I had written here in anticipation of the March 29, 2010, Joint Symposium on International Investment Law and ADR, held by UNCTAD and the Washington and Lee School of Law.  It was a smashing and impressive success, due to the remarkable convening powers of hosts Susan D. Franck of Washington and Lee and Anna Joubin-Bret of UNCTAD.  My expectations were very high, and predictably they were variously exceeded and frustrated.  Even among the Great and the Good, and despite a truly inspirational White Paper that preceded the Symposium, we are still a long way from dealing with international investor conflicts as if they were a “problem” and not a “case.” Read more »

Tags: Add new tag, ADR Institutions, Arbitration, conflict management, systems design

From the invaluable BASESwiki comes news of just the development I and others have pounded the table about:  A long-term project that features a formal and permanent ”canary-in-the-mine” that identifies and addresses problems early on, and successfully prevents conflicts. Read more »

Tags: conflict management, systems design

Two interesting conferences will take place in Virginia during the month of March — one focusing on investor-state dispute prevention and the other on a variety of challenges and opportunities faced by Virginia mediators. Read more »

Tags: ADR, Mediation, systems design