Art of Impasse-Breaking in Mediation

David A. Hoffman is the John H. Watson Jr. Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches three courses: Mediation, Diversity and Dispute Resolution, and Legal Profession: Collaborative Law. David is also an attorney, mediator, arbitrator, and founding member of Boston Law Collaborative, LLC, where he handles cases involving family, business, employment, and other disputes. Prior to founding Boston Law Collaborative in 2003, David was a litigation partner at the Boston firm Hill, Barlow, where he practiced for 17 years.David is past chair of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators and has won lifetime achievement awards from the Academy of Professional Family Mediators and the American College of Civil Trial Mediators. David has published three books on conflict resolution (including Bringing Peace into the Room with co editor Daniel Bowling) and more than 100 articles on topics related to law and mediation.David is a graduate of Princeton University (BA summa cum laude, 1970), Cornell University (MA 1974, American Studies), and Harvard Law School (JD, magna cum laude, 1984), where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, he served as a law clerk for Hon. Stephen G. Breyer, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. David and his wife, Leslie Warner, live in a cohousing community in Acton, Massachusetts. Between them, they have five adult children, an adolescent cat, and a rescue Golden Retriever from Serbia.

The best mediation book I have ever read or used as a textbook to train professionals, and here’s why: Hoffman’s expansive and clear thinking is deeply researched yet easy to read. It presents tools for preventing and breaking impasse and also provides guidance on how to strategically select and deploy the right tool at the right moment. Practicing lawyers and mediators should have this book within reach at all times!- Forrest S. Mosten, Principal Trainer, Mosten Mediation Training Academy; Author of The Complete Guide to Mediation and Mediation Career Guide