Category: Mediation Tips

Mediation is a process, a dance. Attempts to streamline the process, such as by eliminating joint opening sessions or opening statements, or by attempting to

Don’t make your best offer your first offer. Even if it truly is your best offer, it is all but impossible to convince an adverse

Bargaining at a mediation is rarely symmetrical. The concessions the parties make to one another in any round of bargaining or overall are often unequal.

When negotiating, send a consistent message. Avoid yo-yoing, i.e., do not randomly intersperse large and small moves. Instead, make tapered concessions. Make your largest move

Parties at a mediation tend to focus on their own wants without regard to the needs of the parties against whom they are negotiating. Each

A mediated settlement is based on compromise. Yet all too often parties believe they should get everything they want. It’s the mediator’s job to get

Your primary purpose in attending a mediation is, of course, to settle your case, but once you realize that a settlement is not likely going

A link or bracket move, i.e., “We’ll increase our offer to X if you reduce your demand to Y,” is a useful negotiating tool that

Opposing parties – and mediators – tend to be skeptical that “final offers” are really final. To convince opposing parties that your final offer is

As negotiating parties narrow the gap between them, it is often tempting to offer to “split the difference.” No matter how small that difference is,