Alternative Dispute Resolution
Jul. 21, 2025
How a TV show helps resolve disputes
By borrowing George Costanza's Festivus tradition of the "airing of grievances," a mediator has found that letting litigants vent their frustrations can defuse tension, restore rationality and unlock resolution -- even in the most contentious legal disputes.
If you watched the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld, you may remember George Costanza's idea for a new holiday called Festivus. Festivus involved bizarre things like "feats of strength" (such as living room wrestling), but one of its more memorable features was the "airing of grievances," in which celebrants sat around a dinner table taking turns telling each other all the ways their friends have disappointed them over the past year.$95
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