March 27, 2008

1. Mark your calendar for upcoming
Roadmap to Recovery meetings…
Saturday, March 29, 2008: Income Tax
Workshop for ’07 Fire Survivors
(*This meeting only : 10:00 am – Noon)
Thursday, April 17, 2008:
Insurance Claim Handling Refresher
Thursday, May 1, 2008: Local Building
Requirements and Rebuilding “Green”

2. R2R Presentations Available On-Line
RBCPC Firestorm Recovery Plan
The mission is simple: To befriend Survivors of Firestorm 2007 and help
restore lives and homes by ministering to physical, emotional, and spiritual needs
Click: www.rbcpc.org Firestorm
Road to Recovery Series
- PDFs
- Powerpoints

3. SoCal 2007 Wildfire
SoCal 2007 Wildfire
Roadmap to Recovery:
Roadmap to Recovery:
March 27, 2008, Meeting #10
March 27, 2008, Meeting #10
Conflict Resolution & Negotiation
Conflict Resolution & Negotiation
Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian
Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian
Church
Church
www.unitedpolicyholders.org

4. The Fine Print…
The information provided in this program is intended for
general educational purposes only. It should not be
construed as legal advice
The speakers at today’s program are volunteering their
time as educators
Neither United Policyholders nor the Rancho Bernardo
Community Presbyterian Church endorse or warrant
the quality or services of any volunteer speakers

5. United Policyholders announces:
“Ask An Expert” On-Line Forum
A new information resource for ’07 Firestorm Survivors
On the Forum, you can pose a question to:
A Lawyer
A Claims Handling Professional
A Previous Catastrophic Loss Survivor
“Ask An Expert” is restricted by invitation only. If you
are a 2007 Firestorm Survivor and wish to receive an
“invitation”, send an e-mail to:
Emily@unitedpolicyholders.org
Please put: “Ask An Expert Invite” in the subject line of your
e-mail.

6. Mark your calendar for upcoming
Roadmap to Recovery meetings…
Saturday, March 29, 2008: Income Tax
Workshop for ’07 Fire Survivors
(*this meeting only : 10:00 am – Noon*)
--------- no Living with Wildfire workshop on April 2nd ----------
Thursday, April 17, 2008: Insurance Claim
Handling Refresher
Thursday, May 1, 2008: Local Building
Requirements and Rebuilding “Green”

7. Bonnie Kane, Esq
(619)446-5680
Wildfire Plaintiff’s Litigation Team:
The Kane Law Firm
Herman Gerel, Esq.
Stephen J. Hill, Esq.
James W. Parkinson, Esq.
bonnie@thekanelawfirm.com

8. San Diego Fire Victim Lawyers
Three Law Firms with Experience in Electrical and
Propane Cases and Over 40 Verdicts and Settlements over $ 1 million
Cause of Witch Fire Solution
-Power Lines -Separators
Blowing Together
Corporate Individual Recoveries
Individual Recoveries
Responsibility
-By Consumer -Not Token Class
•Not token class action
Action payments Payments
Action

9. Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
by Lewis Michaelson
Lewis Michaelson is vice-president of Katz & Associates,
a full-service communication firm
4250 Executive Square, Suite 670
San Diego, CA 92037
tel: (858) 452-0031
fax: (858) 552-8437
info@katzandassociates.com

10. Conflict Resolution and Negotiation
by Lewis Michaelson
Lewis Michaelson, Vice-president of Katz & Associates
Facilitator and community relations manager
More than 22 years experience in designing & implementing public
participation and education programs for environmental, planning and
impact analysis projects.
Has also worked extensively on intra-and interorganizational conflict
management issues.
Past president of the International Association for Public Participation
20-year member of the Association for Conflict Resolution.
Master of Science in Conflict Management from George Mason University
Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of California, San Diego.

11. Conflict Management and
Principled Negotiation
Lewis Michaelson
March 27, 2008

12. What Is Conflict Management?
Attitudes
Concepts
Behaviors

13. Conflict Management Attitudes
Conflict is natural
Conflict shouldn’t be scary
Conflict is an opportunity

14. Conflict Management Concepts
Zero-sum vs. “enlarging the pie”
Interests vs. positions
Puzzle solving vs. problem solving

15. Conflict Management Behaviors
Acknowledge emotions
Understand and respect values
Avoid right-wrong paradigm
Listen as well as you speak
Put yourself in their shoes
Move from positions to interests

16. Hostile or Emotional Individuals
Oil Your Back (don’t take it personally)
Allow for Venting
Acknowledge Feelings
Demonstrate Empathy (not sympathy)
Verify Understanding
Still Upset
Ca
lm
Provide Information/
Try Again
Develop Solutions

17. Positional Bargaining
Positional bargaining is a battle of wills
Positional bargaining is hard on relationships
Positional bargaining produces unwise agreements
Win-lose usually becomes
LOSE-LOSE

18. Principled Negotiation
Separate the people from the problem
Focus on interests, not positions
Invent options for mutual gains
Insist on using objective criteria

19. Principled Negotiation
Separate the people from the problem
– Negotiators are people first
– Everyone has emotional needs
– Put yourself in their shoes
– Don’t personalize
– Allow them to save face
– Be hard on the problem, soft on the
people

20. Principled Negotiation
Focus on interests, not positions
– Shared interests are hidden by
conflicting positions
– Divergent interests can be the basis for
agreement
– Ask “Why” and “Why not”?
– Make your interests come alive
– Acknowledge their interests

21. Principled Negotiation
Invent options for mutual gains
– Don’t search for the single answer
– Broaden your options
– Change the scope of the agreement
– Identify shared interests
– Dovetail different interests
– Make their decision easy

22. Principled Negotiation
Insist on using objective criteria
– Focus on solving problem vs. “winning”
– Identify fair standards AND procedures
– Frame each issue as a joint search for
objective criteria
– Agree first on principles
– Never yield to pressure, only to principle

23. Know Your BATNA
BATNA: Best Alternative to a
Negotiated Agreement
– The insecurity of an unknown BATNA
– The better your BATNA, the greater
your negotiating power
– Improve your BATNA
– Consider their BATNA
– Disclose your BATNA if it’s strong, not if
it’s weak

24. Useful Phrases
– “Please correct me if I’m wrong”
– “We appreciate what you’ve done for us”
– “Our concern is fairness”
– “What’s the principle behind your offer?”
– “Let me see if I understand what you are
saying”
– “Let me show you where I have trouble
following your reasoning”

25. Useful Phrases
– “One fair solution might be”
– “Let me get back to you”
– “Does anyone else have to approve this
decision?”
– “If we agree… If we disagree…”

26. Mark your calendar for upcoming
Roadmap to Recovery meetings…
Saturday, March 29, 2008: Income Tax
Workshop for ’07 Fire Survivors
(*This meeting only : 10:00 am – Noon)
Thursday, April 17, 2008:
Insurance Claim Handling Refresher
Thursday, May 1, 2008: Local Building
Requirements and Rebuilding “Green”

27. Break Out Sessions
for Fire Survivors
Open to 9:30 pm: Firm Stop time
Upstairs:
State Farm : Dormer West
Farmers : Skylight West
Allstate : Upper Courtside East
USAA: Small room off lobby
Other Companies: Sanctuary