Author Archives: abfifer

An Amazing Use of Mediation

July 24, 2018 – 4:39 pm

The “mediation” between Michigan State University and victims of sports doctor Larry Nassar keeps unfolding in ways atypical of mediations. The latest irregularities were revealed last week: not only was the mediated agreement made public (rare, even in cases involving public entities) but it included provisions involving the Michigan legislature (possibly unique). The settlement, reached […]

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A Look at the Elon Musk Apology

July 19, 2018 – 11:47 am

Elon Musk apologized yesterday for accusing a British cave diver of being a pedophile. The diver, Vern Unsworth, is one of the heroes who assisted the Thai boys trapped in a cave the last couple weeks. Musk had offered to bring his mini-submarine to the cave site, confident it would assist in rescuing the trapped […]

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Advice on Apologies in Litigated Cases

June 27, 2018 – 12:09 pm

A Canadian litigator recently offered some advice regarding an apology in litigated cases. Canada has a federal “apology act,” much like many U. S. states, which makes a statement of sympathy or regret inadmissible to prove liability. But the law has limitations, that lawyers are duty-bound to point out to their clients, lest clients think […]

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Roseanne Barr Acknowledges God in Apology

June 26, 2018 – 7:37 am

A month ago, Roseanne Barr tweeted a very derisive comment about former President Obama’s close advisor Valerie Jarrett. When Ms. Barr was criticized for her tweet, she blamed it on the fact that she had taken the sleep-inducing drug Ambien. One consequence of her tweets is that ABC removed her from the new hit show […]

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Insights into the Art of Apology

June 16, 2018 – 2:52 pm

NPR broadcast a very interesting story this week on the art of apology, exploring what makes or breaks an effective apology: “A Case Study in How to Apologize for a War  Crime.” In this case, there were two attempts to apologize–the first further angered the victims, the second was even better than expected. The backdrop […]

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