Mind your brain’s chemistry in mediation

Beyond Dispute

By Teresa F. Frisbie

Teresa F. Frisbie is the director of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law Dispute Resolution Program; a mediator and arbitrator at ADR Systems of America; a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; and of counsel to DeGrand & Wolfe P.C.

Posted July 20, 2015 3:11 PM

Recently a group of economists, neuroscientists and psychiatrists at institutions including the University of Cambridge, the Imperial College London, the University of Minnesota and the University of Zurich published a study in Scientific Reports finding that elevated levels of testosterone and cortisol in young males could play a destabilizing role in financial markets due to risky decision-making.The study is part of a larger effort to begin to look at the physiological basis of the “irrational exuberance” of …

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Lawyer erred on personal representative after learning defendant was dead

Answering a question certified for immediate appeal in a case where the plaintiff didn’t know the defendant was dead when the lawsuit was filed, the Illinois Appellate Court concluded that the maneuver used by plaintiff’s attorney to rectify the problem — having his secretary appointed as “personal representative” of the decedent’s estate under Sec. 13-209(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure and then naming her as defendant in an amended complaint — was the wrong move.
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