idealawg

Wonder how mediation would work with these conflicts? Has it been tried?

From "Aggression Between Nursing-home Residents More Common Than Widely Believed, Studies Find" (Science Daily):

When people hear about elder abuse in nursing homes, they usually think of staff members victimizing residents. However, research by Cornell faculty members suggests that a more prevalent and serious problem may be aggression and violence that occurs between residents themselves.

Although such aggression can have serious consequences for both aggressors and victims, the issue has received little attention from researchers, and few proven solutions exist to prevent resident altercations, says Karl Pillemer, director of the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging at the College of Human Ecology. ...

Read the rest of the article.

False memories play a role in the ongoing accuracy of living wills: Should living wills have an expiration date?

Given what we know about the plasticity of memory, the findings from this study about living wills are not surprising. Should living will practices be updated in light of the findings?

From "False Memories Of Living Will Complicate End-of-life Treatment Decisions" (Science Daily):

Advance directives, or living wills, may not effectively honor end-of-life wishes because life-sustaining treatment preferences often change over time without people being aware of the changes, according to a new study co-authored by UC Irvine researchers Peter Ditto and Elizabeth Loftus.

False memories can play a significant role in the discrepancy between an individual’s true preferences for end-of-life treatment and what is instructed in their living will.  . . .

“Living wills are a noble idea and can often be very helpful in decisions that must be made near the end of life. But the notion that you can just fill out a document and all your troubles will be solved, a notion that is frequently reinforced in the popular media, is seriously misguided,” said Peter Ditto, professor of psychology and social behavior at UCI.

In research reported in the current issue of the American Psychological Association journal Health Psychology, a sample of 401 adults older than 65 were interviewed about which life-sustaining treatments they would want if they were seriously ill. They were interviewed again 12 months later to test their recall of earlier decisions. About one-third of participants changed their wishes regarding medical treatment such as CPR and “tube feeding” over the course of the year, and in 75 percent of these cases, participants falsely remembered that their original views on the issues matched their new ones.

. . .

“On a policy level, these results suggest that living wills should have an ‘expiration date.’ People can’t be counted upon to update their directives as their wishes change because they often have no awareness that their wishes have changed,” Ditto said.  “On a more personal level, our research stresses the importance of maintaining an ongoing dialogue among individuals, their families and their physicians about end-of-life treatment options,” he continued.

WSJ: "Mediating Elder-Care Disputes"

Excerpt from "Mediating Elder-Care Disputes":

It's hard enough for families to navigate the complicated and emotionally charged decisions related to elder care when everyone gets along.

Throw in a family with tensions or outright hostility and it's no wonder that disagreements sometimes end up in court, an expensive proposition that can easily magnify divisions.

Another way to handle these problems is growing in popularity: mediation.

A mediator is sometimes brought in at the order of a judge seeking to settle a dispute without taking it to a jury. But elder-care practitioners are urging more families to take the step voluntarily, especially in disputes over how to handle guardianship for family members who can no longer care for themselves.

Mark Dennen's family was embroiled in nearly two years of litigation centering around guardianship for his father, then 92 years old, when a judge ordered the case sent to mediation.

"Everybody brings in all this emotional baggage and the mediator helps bring things into focus," Mr. Dennen says. "It's designed to get to a solution."

The mediation brought the legal battle to an end just months before Mr. Dennen's father passed way.

Click to read the rest of the article.

Neuroscience and conflict resolution: Upcoming seminars in Denver, Portland, and Washington, DC

Jeffrey Schwartz's and my upcoming seminars will always be listed on the Schedule of Events page over at the Brains On Purpose™ blog.

To update you about what is scheduled so far . . .

October 24, 2007

Denver, Colorado — 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The location is Holland & Hart at 555 17th Street in downtown Denver. Contact Stephanie for registration information.

• Six-hour program — Brains on Purpose™

November 15 and 16, 2007

Portland State University, Portland, Oregon — online registration

• November 15 — One-and-one-half-hour evening program on leading your brain instead of it leading you (self-leadership)
• November 16 — Six-hour day program — Neuroscience of Conflict Resolution

March 1, 2008

Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C

• Day-long program — Brains on Purpose™ (Web site will be posted on the Schedule of Events just as soon as it is available)

2007 or 2008

• Perhaps you would like to attend a seminar near you? If you have or can recruit a sponsoring organization, we will be very happy to come to your city. Please contact Stephanie about this possibility.

Blog Glob: Monday morning shorts

Excerpt from Louis Nizer: A Leader Wears Many Hats (Michael McKinney) . . .

He must be an archaeologist who exhumes evidence; a psychologist who strengthens his client and weakens his enemy; a paragon of patience to withstand the unreasonableness of troubled clients; a man of endurance to withstand the strain of the most arduous profession; an optimist in the darkest hours and a pessimist in the brightest, so that momentum doesn’t slacken; a historian of the law so that he can better predict its future; an idealist in the service of justice and a practical man who may forgo litigation in his client’s interest; a precisionist who must draft documents which defy ambiguity; a negotiator who makes deals not breaks them; . . .

Excerpt from Thursday. April 12, 2007, post at Bone Marrow Poptarts (young cancer patient, daughter of new partner in a law firm) . . .

She called today to say
that she understands. About me.
Doctors. Life. Cancer. Everything.
She said she wants to be a good mother
because she doesn't have forever.
Only today. That's all we have.
She's been a lawyer all her life.
She made partner at her new firm
last year. Tomorrow she is
putting in her two weeks.No more law books.
No more court dates.
 No more going through files
at the dinner table.
Or forgetting dinner all together.

Excerpt from The Future of Strategy (Rob Millard) . . .

The new model of business strategy that will dominate the 21st Century is already here. It is to be found, in a form rapidly approaching adolescence, in the emerging concepts of military strategy and  the serious academic journals. . . . It is even to be seen in completely different fields that are not intuitively related to either business or strategy, but that have important concepts that influence both, such as emerging areas of physical science such as quantum mechanics and chaos theory.

The W Magical List of Women Bloggers

Lawyer fees rise . . . and fall (Dan Pink) . . .

 

Elder Mediation Training in October

The Montgomery County Mediation Center is offering training in elder mediation on October 1 - 4, 2007 [brochure in PDF format] in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. From the Web site . . .

Workshop Description

Day One - Three of the training will utilize a relational model and the format will combine lecture, video analysis & role play practice to address substantive and practice issues in elder mediation.  Topics include:

• Conflicts Associated with Aging
• Sensitivity to the Aging Process
• Societal Bias, Aging and Mediation
• Capacity Issues and Accommodations
• Intergenerational Family Dynamics
• Facilitating Family Decision Making
• Mediating within Healthcare & Long-Term Care Settings
• Elder Law Issues
• Ethical Considerations

Day four of the training is optional and will guide participants in how to develop and manage quality elder mediation services.

Thanks to Elder Law Prof Blog for the alert to this event.

Blog Glob: "Love, Care and the Inevitable Arguments," an article about elder mediation

Excerpt from "Love, Care and the Inevitable Arguments" . . .

When siblings have to make decisions about care for their aging parents, the situation can spark such great disputes within the family that some are turning to a solution common in divorces and business disputes.

Elder mediation is a relatively new option for families navigating the complex decisions and emotions surrounding elder care.

Read the rest of "Love, Care and the Inevitable Arguments"

Blog Glob: Monday evening shorts

Excerpt from "What Women (Lawyers) Want: Good Work; Respect; Flexible Options" . . .

What is it that women lawyers want and expect from their professional and personal lives – and how does this differ from the wants and expectations of their apparently more successful male colleagues in law firms?

Excerpt from "Becoming 'parent of your parent' an emotionally wrenching process" . . .

Every rivalry you had with your brothers and sisters, every argument you had with your parents, every effort you ever made to become independent can be put to the test once your parents become old and sick.

You find yourself arguing with your siblings, arguing with your spouse, arguing with your parents, arguing with yourself.

Excerpt from "Happy? How do you know? And does it really matter?" . . .

Todd and Michelle [Keeley] are very big on “the moment.” They are also very big on a bunch of other concepts you may have come across. These include (but are not limited to) personal empowerment, not engaging your inner critic, coming from a place of gratitude, relishing the journey and, most fervently, the law of attraction – an unproven rule of self-help physics that proposes positive thoughts produce positive events.

The whole thing puts me in bad mood. Lately, I've come to hate happiness.

Excerpt from "Legal 'blawgs'" (subscription required)  . . .

[L]awyers must be careful to not turn their blawgs into advertisements, which are regulated by the Florida Bar, says Gregory Herbert, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig LLP who specializes in media law. "I think there are definitely lawyers who use it as a marketing tool," he says. "If it's done carefully, it can be a great tool."

Lawyers also can run into trouble with their cases if they're too free with what they post online.

Excerpt from "Mediation: Better Than Arm Wrestling" . . .

You are the CEO of a small software company engaged in a dispute with a competitor over $100,000. Your lawyer has advised that you can litigate, arbitrate, mediate, negotiate, conciliate or use an "expert process". Having been through a lengthy and costly litigation before, you choose to avoid the mess and go straight to an arm wrestling match with the opposing CEO. Win or lose, as long as you don’t have to pay lawyers. While perhaps appropriate for a dispute between fit Australian CEO’s (and it actually did happen!), this is not likely your best choice.

Blog Glob: Legal obligation to honor the funeral plans of the deceased may resolve disputes between survivors

Excerpt:

The legislation offers people the opportunity to control their funeral arrangements and the disposition of their remains at death with the force of law. More than half the states already have such statutes in place, often referred to as “personal preference/designated agent” laws.

“It is not practical to include these kinds of directions in a will, since the funeral is often over before anyone reads the will,” [Rep. Gary] Sherman explained. “The ability to have legally binding advance arrangements can not only relieve the anxiety of the person making the plan, but also provide a clear and “guilt free” direction for the survivors who are left with the duty of arranging the funeral of a loved one.”

. . .

In the time of grief, survivors can feel overwhelmed and pressured to make arrangements that may not necessarily be in the best interest of the decedent, the decedent’s estate or themselves. At the same time, survivors would have an obligation to honor the written wishes of the deceased, even though the decedent’s wishes may not coincide with their own.

“While I suspected that disputes among survivors about the details of the final disposition of deceased family members were common enough,” Sherman said, “I was surprised to hear from the testimony of a funeral director that fully 20% of the funerals they arrange are subjects of such conflict.”

Read rest here.

Conflict resolution and neuroscience program: Announcing that Dr. Jeffrey M. Schwartz will be presenting

Our first program on the brain and conflict resolution will be mid-January in the Bay Area of California. I am pleased to announce that my co-presenter will be Dr.Jeffery M. Schwartz of UCLA. Dr. Schwartz is the author of several books, including The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. He and I discussed the program today and have decided that it will last at least four hours and up to six hours; we will determine the length in the very near future. Neuroscience research has much valuable information for those of us in the business of resolving conflict. We want this program to provide attendees with lots of information that is both practical and immediately useful.

More information will be available very soon.

If you are interested in attending, please e-mail me and you will be placed on the program mailing list.

Note (added June 3, 2007, 10:43 PM Mountain): A more complete description of the seminar Brains On Purpose™: Neuroscience and Conflict Resolution.