It is harder than ever for me to be a lawyer. I took an oath to uphold the laws of the United Stated and my home state of New York, and I will. But not without challenge. I see the shortcomings of the hierarchical, punishment-based, and often elitist system designed for equality, yet excluding more…
Each year, on this date, the United States celebrates the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was passed in 1920, between the births of my mother and her older three older sisters. For those of you who have forgotten, the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote by prohibiting…
Rules can only go so far, and there might be a human tendency to resist “rules” because they seem like limitations more than helpful guidance. Instead of writing voluminous rule books (like lawyers and legislatures do), I found that consistently communicating our Core Values is most effective in empowering employees. We list these values and…
My process is based on transformative mediation techniques that I use with my clients and is the foundation for my first book, DIY Conflict Resolution: Seven Choices and Five Actions of a Master. The Seven Choices (gently) help parties in conflict remember their own humanity and contributions to the dispute: Forgive yourself for having conflicts….
We tend to think of August as the last month of summer. Although the season does not technically end until September 22, teachers and children return to school toward the end of this month, which means most parents who take family vacations will have completed them and start focusing on paying off the relative debt…
The International Center for Ethno-Religious Mediation (“ICERM”) is a United States-based non-governmental organization (“NGO”) and is concerned, although not entirely surprised, that the United States is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”). Women in the US are still at greater risk than…
On Tuesday, I recorded an 18-minute talk for the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) Relational Practices Telesummit, In the talk, I apply my Third Ear Conflict Resolution process to implicit bias. That seems relevant here. I agree that “culture fit” is important when building a team and that it can, unfortunately, open employers up to EEOC…
Many of you know the story of my assault. You can read more about it in my book, and you can watch me discuss it (and more) with Julia Maddox on Queens Public Television, where I also read the poem I wrote my attacker. Often, well-meaning people say things like, “You’re a better person than…
Over the past few years, I have become aware of my sensitivity to negative messaging on television and social media. I canceled my cable TV subscription, when the monthly charges grew for fewer substantive options. For a variety of reasons, both obvious and not, I sold the TV my ex-boyfriend gave me, and I found…
Admittedly, I have a love-hate relationship with the title of Manson’s book. But it’s effective. It got my attention and made me uncomfortable because I care too much about things like this, which probably don’t matter very much. I suspect that is why my personal partner loaned me his copy of the book. It’s a…
