If you haven’t yet read Vickie Pynchon’s post, Do Attorneys “Get in the Way” of Mediator-Assisted Negotiations? go there right now and read it.

If you’re a mediator who thinks it’s all about settlement all the time, read her post. If you’re a mediator who thinks attorneys’ presence is a problem during negotiations, read her post. And be sure to pause and absorb the second-to-last paragraph:

So we can all stop pretending now. We can all put down the burdens we’re carrying; the shame at our own human fallibility; the grandiosity that makes us believe we’re self made. We’re part of the team. We’re in it together. Isn’t that good news for the New Year?

Amen to the beginning of the end of arrogance and self-righteousness.