The Art of Impasse-Breaking in Mediation

In this webinar, David Hoffman will share practical tools that lawyers can use when negotiations are deadlocked, from his book “The Art of Impasse-Breaking in Mediation: A Handbook for Mediators, Lawyers, and Other Conflict Resolvers” (published by the American Bar Association in December 2025). David’s talk will focus on identifying settlement barriers, overcoming psychological obstacles to settlement, preventing impasses, range-bargaining, and a variety of interventions that mediators use, such as risk analysis, case evaluation, and mediator’s proposals. David will then take questions from attendees on any topic related to conflict resolution (from his 40 years as a Boston lawyer, 33 years of serving as a mediator, 20 years of teaching conflict resolution at Harvard Law School).The Alternative Dispute Resolution Section is chaired by Robert Cohen and Jeffrey Kravitz.