"The Neuroscience and Neuroeconomics of Decision Making: Implications for Mediation" Set for November 13

The 7th Annual Weil Lecture will feature Caltech Professors Antonio Rangel and Jonathan N. Katz, and moderator Max Factor III. Register now.

The 7th Annual Robert I. Weil Lecture, “The Neuroscience and Neuroeconomics of Decision Making: Implications for Mediation,” will focus on imbedded processes that affect how decisions are made—often effectively but sometimes in self-defeating ways—and practical implications for lawyers and mediators.

Mediation is a system with processes designed to help disputants make the best decisions based on open access to information, full understanding of the interests of each other, and careful consideration of potential outcomes. However, disputants’ decision making often defies explanation, begging for better ways to analyze and understand its mechanisms. Research efforts targeting decision making may range widely from the inner workings of an individual’s brain to broad statistical models of social trends that influence voting behavior. 

Together the speakers bring both the macro and microanalytical view to the study of human decision making. Their research helps us better understand the values and mechanisms underpinning individual and social decisions, as well as uncover how the crafting of appropriate systems and policies may bring about better decision making.

The November 13 program—presented by the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Center for Civic Mediation—will feature Professor Antonio Rangel, Neuroscience and Economics, California Institute of Technology; Professor Jonathan N. Katz, Social Science and Statistics, California Institute of Technology; and moderator Max Factor III, Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, and past president of the Southern California Mediation Association.

Sponsors include The Rutter Group, Richard Chernick and JAMS, Max Factor III, Steven W. Paul, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, William B. Fitzgerald, and Hon. Haley J. Fromholz (ret.). Additional sponsorships are available.

Program information. The event will be held on November 13, 2012, at the downtown offices of Jones Day LLP, 555 S. Flower Avenue, Los Angeles, and will be preceded by a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. Proceeds of the event will benefit Center for Civic Mediation community and youth peer mediation programs. For more information and reservations, contact Anita Almonte at (213) 896-6537 or register online.