June 13, 2013

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Smartphone security: Law enforcement to issue call for help from tech companies – In the U.S., one-third of robberies involve the theft of a mobile device. Top law enforcement officials from New York and San Francisco will ask for help on Thursday from the companies that make those devices. They want smartphone makers to be smarter about security.

The Future of Train Travel: Life in Hyper-Speed – The “Hyperloop” would, according to Musk, “never crash, be immune to weather, go twice as fast as an airplane, four times as fast as a bullet train, and – to top it off – run completely on solar power.” While this sounds like a too-good-to-be-true idea straight out of a science fiction novel, our friends at Business Insider believe that there’s no reason the Hyperloop couldn’t become reality with enough political and financial backing – but that’s quite the caveat.

Two Reasons Why Mediation is The Best Way to Resolve Family Disputes

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Two Reasons Why Mediation is The Best Way to Resolve Family Disputes

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / freedigitalphotos.net

Mediation’s success rate in resolving family disputes speaks for itself.  But when it’s YOUR family facing a crisis that has significant financial and personal repercussions, how do you know that mediation is the right choice for you and yours?  Let’s look at some of the top reasons why many families choose mediation to settle family, adoption, child custody, and estate planning or divorce disputes.

  1. Mediation is peaceful.

Mediation involves sitting down together in the same room, at the same table, and calmly discussing the issue at hand.  A mediator is trained in the art of facilitating this conversation to ensure that everyone has a voice and that each person’s voice is heard.  A mediator is also trained in the art of guiding the discussion toward productive discourse if things get off track, or if the disputants allow emotions to get in the way and the session devolves to unfounded accusations and name-calling.

In this sense, a mediator is a peace-maker.  He or she has studied extensively the most productive ways communication can occur and can guide the disputants down a path of peaceful and respectful resolution of their conflict.  Later on, after the dispute has been settled, this peaceful exchange will create a foundation on which the family members or former spouses can maintain a solid relationship built on trust.  Especially if they are going to be co-parenting despite a divorce, this relationship is vital to the successful future of the children involved.

  1. Mediation is empowering.

In litigation or arbitration, a third party will be ultimately making a decision for you regarding the outcome of your conflict.  However, in mediation, the decision-making power is given to the parties in dispute.  This means that you and your family members will be in control of the outcome of the mediation session—and only you.  The mediator will neutrally guide you toward a resolution but mediation is non-binding in that if you are still unhappy with the result of the mediation session, you have the choice to end it and move on to litigation.

June 10, 2013

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Facebook, Divorce Linked In New Study – The study, which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, found that people who use Facebook excessively (interpreted by the researchers as checking it more than hourly) are more likely to “experience Facebook–related conflict with their romantic partners, which then may cause negative relationship outcomes including emotional and physical cheating, breakup and divorce,” according to a press release.

Health-Care Jobs Move Home – Throughout the ups and downs of the recovery, the health-care sector has remained a jobs engine, notching 11,000 of the 175,000 positions added in May.

Maritime Mediation: When War is Not a Solution

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Maritime Mediation: When War is Not a Solution

Image courtesy of Robert Radford / freedigitalphotos.net

Maritime mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that can help parties reach a resolution concerning matters of maritime law.  Such law includes, but is not limited to, ship owner liability, shipmaster duties and contract negotiations, maritime worker injury, maritime worker contract negotiations, admiralty and maritime shipping law, and maritime security, as well as all matters related to cruise ships, ferries, dredging vessels and Jones Act claims.

On the international stage, maritime mediation has helped resolve thousands of disputes between countries and borders that could have resulted in heightened conflict or even war.  An example of how countries need maritime mediation occurred in 2012, when the country of Cyprus offered to host maritime mediation between Lebanon and Israel concerning a border dispute centered on exploration of the Mediterranean Sea.

The maritime border dispute had been ongoing between Lebanon and Israel for several years and concerned a small area of the Mediterranean Sea—approximately 850 square kilometers—that both countries claimed.  The dispute over the area, and over which country had rights to explore it for resources, heightened to the point of war between the two nations.

While negotiations have been ongoing, neighboring Cyprus has encouraged both countries to enter into maritime mediation to resolve the conflict instead of resorting to violence.  However, an agreement signed between Cyprus and Israel in 2010 has distanced Lebanon from consideration of maritime mediation even further.  According to Lebanese officials, the agreement conflicts with the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea and should be amended before the country will agree to enter maritime mediation.

It remains to be seen how Lebanon and Israel will ultimately resolve its maritime issues, but its neighbors are seeking the peaceful solution of maritime mediation to help both countries avoid a costly (both in lives and in resources) and violent approach.

May 30, 2013

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Work policies that support LGBT community are good for business – A new study confirms what many in the gay and lesbian community have said for some time: LGBT-supportive policies are linked to positive business outcomes.

The $2 million sinkhole – No one’s exactly sure what undermined the pavement at 14th and F streets NW. Officials on Friday said they suspect a botched utility project that diverted stormwater into the ground rather than a sewer may be to blame.