Resolution Strategies | A Monthly E-Newsletter
ASSUMPTIONS OF RISK
There are a variety of reasons cases don’t settle at mediation, but the most common – at least in my experience – is that opposing parties often make erroneous assumptions of risk. Put another way, plaintiffs frequently overvalue and defendants frequently undervalue a claim, thereby miscalculatin [...]
BTW, SOK 2TLK2 UR MED8R 121 B4 U MED8
At the end of August, we moved our son to Boston, where he is a first-year student at the Berklee College of Music. Since the move, most of my contact with him has been by way of text messaging, hence the attempted use of text message abbreviations in this month’s title. While learning to text ha [...]
NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED
Defendant – who was representing himself – arrived a few minutes early for the mediation, so I invited him to join me in one caucus room to discuss the facts giving rise to the litigation. Facing allegations that he had misappropriated trade secrets and started a new business in violation of a no [...]
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
“The right answer at the wrong time is the wrong answer.” I don’t know who was first to say it, but the above maxim has become the mediator’s mantra. When it comes to mediation, timing is everything – and that starts with deciding when will be the best time to engage in mediation. [...]
A PERFECT ENDING
On June 2, 2010, pitcher Armando Galaraga did something very few players in Major League Baseball have ever done. I’m not referring to the fact that he pitched what everyone agrees was really a perfect game. I’m referring to something perhaps more rare and, in my opinion, more significant. [...]