Category: Mediation Tips

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,

The problem with an ultimatum is that it may restrict the options of the party issuing it. When you tell your adversary at a mediation,

Backwards moves are counterproductive and can be justified only by a dramatic and unforeseen change in information or circumstances. When a party has made an

Prepare a fill-in-the-blanks draft settlement agreement and bring it with you to the mediation. After a long day negotiating, it may be difficult to remember

Almost any trial lawyer can draft an adequate settlement agreement in a typical civil case where one party pays the other some amount of money,