Resolution Strategies | A Monthly E-Newsletter
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED
When I first began to offer my services as a mediator, I considered it to be a personal failure on my part if a mediation ended for the day without the parties having reached a resolution. Even though I knew intellectually that mediation is a complicated process and that it’s not always pos [...]
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Last month, I had back-to-back mediations in matters that were – on paper – quite similar. Both were personal injury actions with clear liability and settlement values in the same range. Despite the similarities, only the second matter settled. Engaging in a bit of “post-mediati [...]
CLIMATE CHANGE
Following the tragic events in Tucson on January 8th, it was reassuring to find consensus across the American political spectrum – from President Obama’s eulogy at the memorial service to Senator John McCain’s Op-Ed column in the Washington Post – that while the shootings [...]
THE SOONER, THE BETTER
One of the litigator’s most powerful tools – especially given increased court congestion due to budgetary constraints – is the judicious and timely use of Statutory Offers to Compromise, pursuant to CCP Section 998. But when, in the litigation timeline, is the best time to actually serve a 998 Of [...]
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
After four hours of arduous negotiations, the parties were still more than $200,000 apart. Frustration had set in and neither side was willing to cede any further ground to the other. Both professed comfort proceeding to trial because both were confident they would obtain an outcome more favorabl [...]