Follow-Up to Bernard Goetz Example of ‘Mediation With a Mugger,’ Plus Fashion Week Update

Posted by Alan Childress

A few days ago I posted on the value of litigation — the power of declaring rights, and right and wrong, through judicial decree and not just dispute resolution.  That post was picked up and challenged by Victoria Pynchon in her Settle It Now ADR and mediation blog, in a post linked here.  Her view is that there is still a place for mediation, properly done, in norm-enforcing and social statements, plus it is clear that the adjudicative wing of this important endeavor has to be improved too.  She also has a nice, fairly long excerpt from the classic Alschuler article on Goetz’s case itself, which I had not linked.  Ms. Pynchon also links to the meditor blah… blah… blog, which has the absolute best blog title of 2008 (maybe the century), and something never ever heard at family Thanksgivings or at faculty meetings:  Alan Childress makes a good point.

Neither source discussed my mediation post’s rant on Jeff’s rant against subway ‘earspill‘ from iPods. I guess the consensus may well be that Jeff is right (gulp), as my ridicule could easily have been joined and yet was not.  This is especially so since the blah…blah… blog post does not reference my making good points plural.  Jeff wins this time, but the year is young yet.

And in an unrelated follow-up to my post on NYC Fashion Week, I now link the official photos from the Catherine Holstein runway show, plus rave reviews and stories from Elle, Style, FWD, FashionIndie, Nylon, DailyCandy, and Glamour.  And, interestingly enough, from none other than The Huffington Post.  (“Alan” and “fashion” also not said around family gatherings.)  Here is the original New York TImes story on Cate’s debut, and the law (Skadden) connection.