Sunday, February 21, 2010

Evaluating Whether to Settle

Why would an attorney's assessment of a case change between filing and the eve of trial? Why recommend settling when the case looked pretty good? See How Attorneys Value Your Claim When Making a Recommendation to Settle or Proceed to Trial: An Explanation for the Parties, Settle It Now Negotiation Blog, Feb. 20, 2010.

The author recommends a new book, Randall Kiser, Beyond Right and Wrong: The Power of Effective Decision Making for Attorneys and Clients. According to the publisher,

This book guides attorneys and clients through legal decision making. It analyzes 11,306 attorney-client decisions in actual cases and summarizes decades of research regarding judge, jury, litigant and attorney decision making. To explain why many litigation outcomes are suboptimal, the book describes the psychological and institutional factors that impede sound decision making. The roles of attorneys and clients in legal decision making and the legal malpractice and disciplinary consequences of ineffective legal representation also are discussed. To rapidly promote better financial outcomes in civil litigation and to assist attorneys and clients in becoming expert decision makers, the book presents more than 65 ideas, methods and systems for improving personal and group decision making.
Another interesting blog post on litigation and settlement decisions: Decision Tree Analysis in Litigation: The Basics, Settlement Perspectives, Jan. 4, 2009.

Thanks: #djillpugh

2 comments:

John DeGroote said...

Mary--

Thanks for your thoughts on Settlement Perspectives, and I'm glad you helped lead me to Randall Kiser's new book. With recommendations from you and Vickie Pynchon, it should be good. I'll let you know--

John DeGroote

Find a Lawyer said...

I have a much more cynical view of how and when certain lawyers settle. If often depends on how hard a case will be to run for the lawyers personally as opposed to the actual issues involved. Sometimes trial lawyers get the case late, aren't on top of it and prefer to settle.