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Sunday morning space out: The Space Lawyer Song and mediation in outer space

Take a trip over to space law probe: not for lawyers and space tourists only to listen to Mikey Mell and the JDs performing The Space Lawyer Song.

Space lawyer. It's a career, job description, esoteric but fast growing legal specialty, and now, at last -- a rock song . . .  .

The band gives their audience many laughs. Now you too can laugh at "Space Lawyer".

Before finding space law probe, space law had not occupied much of my thought. I did some reading at slp and found some of the posts very, very intriguing. Blogger Jesse Londin is fun to read, too; I smiled often as a result of her lively sense of humor.

One post in particular caught my thought: Londin wrote about a book on space conflict resolution entitled  Dispute Settlement in International Space Law: A Multi-door Courthouse for Outer Space. I am well-acquainted with the concept of the multi-door courthouse on planet Earth. (In fact, I was fortunate to meet its developer Professor Frank E. A. Sander many years ago when he and I were in the very first mediation training taught by Gary Friedman and Jack Himmelstein of the Center for Mediation in Law.) The multi-door courthouse for outer space? What a new world! From Book News, Inc. . . .

The multi-door courthouse is a concept in international law that grew out of alternative dispute resolution movements in the domestic law of several countries, says [Gérardine Meishan] Goh. She describes how it could be used to resolve disputes between countries over space law. Her topics include the applicability of international dispute settlement mechanisms to space law, the need for a sectorial space law dispute settlement mechanism, and implementing the multi-door courthouse for outer space.

In one way, colliding satellites are a far cry from, say, a barking dog dispute. (That link takes you to a dog dispute song I wrote to the Hallelujah Chorus; here's the song's back story.) In another way, all disputes possess some of the same elements. I am reminded of this commonality while I am reading Gandhi's Way: A Handbook of Conflict Resolution by Mark Juergensmeyer.  Juergensmeyer describes five conflicts: a family feud, an employee dispute with company owners, a dispute internal to a person, a nuclear arms conflict, and Polish Jews versus the Nazis. Reading these five cases is a reminder of the common threads of conflict. Tomorrow's disputes would seem like science fiction today and yet, as long as we don't morph into a different species, they also will seem thoroughly familiar.

Enjoy your Sunday here on Earth.

Moving mediation, moving negotiation: Who steers?

Imagine up to seven people involved in a mediation or negotiation all on one bicycle. The dynamics would shift as each person pedaled away. I see real potential for conflict resolution with the seven-person conference bicycle. At the Hammacher Schlemmer Web site we learn more about this seven-person mode of transportation (and I suggest also mode of communication).

Why be satisfied with a bicycle built for two? The unique and easy-to-maneuver ConferenceBike™ comfortably seats up to seven people, sitting in a circle and biking together for an unforgettable riding experience. Originally commissioned exclusively for Hammacher Schlemmer, American artist and inventor Eric Staller has created what he calls “a symbol for community, a tool for bringing people together.” Almost anyone can ride on this distinctive trike, so you can use it for family reunions, summer gatherings, corporate retreats, outdoor education programs, or taking the neighborhood along for a ride. The frame has an ergonomic design making it easy to get on and off, and has seven sets of pedals that propel the trike forward via a patented transmission system. One person steers, while all seven riders are free to pedal, or not, as the bike moves along.

Why would this be helpful for resolving conflict and negotiating differences? Physical involvement (riding the bike) obviously shifts chemicals in the brain and in other parts of the body, perhaps getting people out of deep and established conflict ruts. Loosening the body can loosen the mind. The outdoor setting also breaks molds and can facilitate the questioning of rigidly held assumptions. Humor might enter and research has shown humor and laughter foster collaboration. Not meeting in the same place, in the same way, wearing the same clothes, maintaining the same tone, can invite creativity. This bicycle (wouldn't it really by a septicycle?) can break all sorts of barriers to conflict resolution, don't you think? Let me know when you get yours.

And what are your ideas for its possible use? Please let me hear . . .

I learned of the conference bike at Cognitive Edge.

Culture is the software of the mind: Cross-cultural awareness (and why I left my heart in San Francisco)

Two sharp and savvy bloggers have recently posted about the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity. Diane Levin at Online Guide to Mediation posted "Developing cultural awareness in a global business age." Levin says:

For many of us in the 21st century, the map of our business and social networks has radically changed. Once local or regional, those networks have become global, thanks to digital technology, which has transformed the geography of our professional and personal lives.

Michelle Golden at Golden Practices blogged "Working Globally." Golden writes:

Knowledge of multi-cultural business and social etiquette is increasing in necessity. Living in such an electronically connected time, when even telephone access to the farthest reaches of the world are reasonable (or free with Skype! gotta love Skype...). Even I hardly go a day without speaking to or corresponding with someone from another hemisphere (and that doesn't include blogging).

Both point to a very informative post by Pam Slim at Escape from Cubicle Nation  entitled  "How not to be a cultural knucklehead in a global business world."  Be sure to click on over and read what Slim advises.

Several years ago I conducted a couple of seminars for lawyers in San Francisco on cross-cultural communication. Here's an article I wrote about the programs for Lawyer Hiring & Training Report.

Why I Left My Heart in San Francisco: California Lawyers Expand Their Cultural Awareness

In January if this year, I offered two seminars to lawyers in California about the influence of culture on conflict resolution. One of the training programs was for the settlement attorneys of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the other was for a group of approximately 25 lawyer mediators from various firms.

I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with lawyers who were eager to open themselves up to new information and to shift old attitudes. Learning that many of our ideas are not universal but are instead a function of our culture -- are "culture-bound" -- can be disconcerting, and yet these lawyers were enthusiastic when working with the topics.

In learning about a culture (as well as many other topics), three areas must be addressed:  . . . Download the rest of the article.