We all want to get to yes. Many of us would like to discover hidden underlying interests, appeal to people’s private agendas and find a win-win solution. But some cases aren’t about that. Some are purely about ‘Show Me The Money!’ In cases like that, where there’s a huge dollar divide at the outset, bracketing can be one of the most effective negotiation techniques in a mediator’s toolbox.
In this Bracketology 101 discussion, Lee Jay Berman will make bracketing (and brackets) clear to you, so that you can use them with confidence, skill, and finesse. Bracketing can be one of the most effective negotiation techniques in a mediator's toolbox, when it is used correctly. It can also be one of the most misunderstood methods, if not. Your mediation participants will enjoy the break in the monotony (and pressure) of trading simple numbers back and forth - plus they’ll enjoy the confidentiality of their numbers being protected or ‘hidden’.
Bracketing can be used in many different ways, with some including double-blind brackets, where only the mediator knows each side’s confidential offers. For instance, bracketing is different than negotiating with brackets. The other thing that bracketing can do is give one party the power, through the bracket, to move the other party more than they may want to in each round. Through a series of examples, this workshop will demonstrate the effective use of bracketing, and of negotiating with brackets. It will offer several different approaches to using bracketing effectively, both at the outset of a negotiation, and as a closing technique, as well as introducing the mediator’s bracket - all helping to add new and powerful negotiation tools to your mediator’s toolbox.
About Your Trainer:
Lee Jay Berman began as a full-time mediator 29 years ago, and has successfully mediated over 2,700 matters, many of which were high profile cases. Chambers USA has ranked him as one of the top commercial mediators in the U.S. from 2018-2023, naming him to their “Band 1” as one of the top 13 mediators in the U.S. He has been voted by his colleagues into the Who’s Who of International Commercial Mediation from 2012-2023, and was recently named one of the 10 Global Thought Leaders in North America. ADR Times also recently named him to their inaugural “Who’s Who in ADR”. The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) named him their inaugural “Distinguished Neutral of the Year” in 2017. California’s Daily Journal twice named him “Top Neutral”. And, the Southern California Mediation Association has honored him with both their Cloke-Millen Peacemaker of the Year (2021) and L. Randolph Lowry Award (2010) for his work as a mediator, trainer, and thought leader in the field.
He is an American Arbitration Association Master Mediator for employment matters, a national panelist on their commercial and construction panels, and a select mediator on their International Center for Dispute Resolution mediation panel. He is a Distinguished Fellow with the International Academy of Mediators, a Charter Diplomat with NADN, and certified by the International Mediation Institute (one of the first 5 mediators in the U.S.).
Also a popular trainer, Mr. Berman founded the American Institute of Mediation after seven years as Director of Pepperdine Law School's "Mediating the Litigated Case" program (ranked #1 nationally). He has trained mediators, judges, attorneys, and business leaders across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, as well as in Croatia, Dubai, Jordan, India, Uzbekistan, Australia, and New Zealand, and has consulted with court systems across the U.S., and in India.
Lee Jay has been interviewed on dozens of podcasts, published numerous articles on mediation and negotiation, and the American Bar Association will be publishing two of his books in 2023 and 2024.
What people are saying about this course:
“Great combination of theory along with answers to actual practical problems.”
- Bob Andersen, Andersen Mediations, Riverside, CA
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“This course will change your approach to mediation forever.
Find the time to take this program it will change your practice.”
- Gregg Hovey, Hovey & Associates, San Diego, CA
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“Very good training to learn how to establish my conflict resolution/mediation business.”
– Yvette Durazo, Founder of Unitive Consulting (San Diego, CA)
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“This course was a unique combination of inspiring and practical.
Thank you for teaching it like it is.”
– Arianna Jeret, Arianna Jeret Mediation – Redondo Beach, CA
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Please note that all store orders are manually processed during regular working hours. Please allow up to 72 hours to receive your access code that will permit you to access your downloads. An email will be sent to the email address you use in the above purchase with a link and access code.
This course has been submitted to the State Bar of California for 1.0 hour of California MCLE Credit. Approval is pending as of this date.
