Prepare Your Client for Mediation.
Your client is the ultimate decision maker at the mediation and needs to be well prepared in advance to fulfil this role. You have an
Alert Your Mediator and the Other Side in Advance That a Defendant Has Limited Ability to Satisfy a Money Judgment.
Often at mediation a defendant asserts the so-called “uncollectibility defense”, i.e., a lack of non-exempt assets sufficient to satisfy a money judgment, which, if true,
Don’t Fall in Love with Your Pre-Mediation Valuation of Your Case.
Don’t fall in love with your pre-mediation valuation of your case. Granted you want to negotiate a settlement commensurate with the fair value of your
Bait the Hook to Suit the Fish.
Not all mediation settlements are as simple as defendant writes a check and the parties exchange releases. Even terms of payment – timing, security, default
Don’t Deny the Mediator Access to Your Client.
Self-determination of the parties is a bedrock principle of mediation. Lawyers play an essential role, but it is ultimately the clients who decide whether to
Don’t open with your best offer.
Don’t open with your best offer. Even if it really is your best offer, it is all but impossible to convince an adverse party that
