The Problem You have become accustomed to communicating settlement offers through email; Your email efforts have been misunderstood by the other side; In the fast-paced world in which we live, it is easy to get caught up in communicating through electronic channels such as the BlackBerry or the iPhone so that your message is…
This story is for you if: You have made a big mistake in a negotiation and you need a way to recover; Your efforts at settlement have fallen on deaf ears; You have stepped in a negotiation minefield and you need to find a way to get back on track. Periodically we find ourselves…
This story is for you if: It’s difficult to tell who the decision makers are on your cases. You are looking for different approaches to influence your adversary You need to adapt to changing events in order to maximize your client’s settlement In every negotiation, like in a social setting, there is a pecking…
There is a short period of time in any difficult mediation where the tension escalates and tough negotiation decisions have to be made. Some people call this a ‘do or die’ moment. Its like the last vote in the Supreme Court in Gore v. Bush. Or its Tiger Woods chipping in from the fringe of…
Picture a group of 30 trial lawyers in an almost empty room, loudly chanting, ‘Big Booty, Big Booty, Big Booty!’ Now imagine a pair of them trying to have a conversation without using the letter ‘S’. How about two of them vying for the attention of a third by, at turns, singing, crying, jumping up…
Civil trial lawyers have been testing new techniques to persuade since our constitution authorized the right to jury trials. In the past several years, trial consultants have encouraged use of various strategies ranging from improvisational acting, psychodrama to the current ‘reptile’ approach. The reptile approach is highly effective in that it challenges people to make…
This story is for you if . . . • You have had several mediations where there are huge gaps in your evaluation of the case versus your adversary’s evaluation of the case; • You have not spent any time getting a sense of how your adversary evaluates the case. The Myth: Defendants walk into…
The Situation: Your adversary is attacking your case in the mediation in such a manner that good faith negotiations seem like a distant cousin to all out war. You are looking for a way to recover. You don’t want to walk out of the room, but you are running out of options and the negotiation…
The Situation: Your client has brought a spouse or a significant other to the mediation who is having a problematic influence on your client’s decision-making abilities. This is preventing you from getting your client prepared for a fair settlement. The Solution: Enroll the spouse in the settlement process early, as opposed to ignoring them. This…
The economic challenges facing society have finally hit the civil justice system. Courthouses have seen huge cutbacks, and San Francisco has all but shutdown civil jury trials. No one thought this was going to happen to such a venerable institution as the jury system, but in these difficult times, nothing is sacred. Reduced budgets translate…
