By David Hoffman
My kids keep asking me when I am going to retire, but I still have two day-jobs, and I love them both: (a) teaching at Harvard Law School and (b) continuing to mediate, arbitrate, and handle Collaborative Law cases. What’s new and different for me is working on four writing projects. First, the ABA will be publishing The Art of Impasse-Breaking in Mediation — I circulated a draft to IAM’ers in April and got some very helpful feedback. Second, I am working on a manual for lawyers and mediators about the Internal Family Systems (“IFS”) model, which is a psychotherapy framework that turns out to be useful for mediators, lawyers, coaches, and teachers, among others. (I will be teaching an IFS course for lawyers and mediators this Fall for the IFS Institute.) Third, I continue to research and write about unconscious bias, notwithstanding the current anti-DEI climate. Finally, I am compiling ideas for a memoir for my kids, and I would love to hear from IAM’ers if you have already done this, or have ideas about how to do it. (I am wondering about such things as how to strike the right balance between candor and TMI.) Despite all of the above, I do enjoy smelling the roses — especially the roses on Cape Cod, where my wife Leslie and I spend as much time as possible, with our Golden Retriever (Bella) and our rascally cat (Rosie).