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Five Tips for Avoiding Settlement Traps
When a lawsuit is settled, the clients cut a deal, the legal gladiators lay down their briefs, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. But is that sigh premature? The dynamics of settlement negotiations often invite parties and their counsel to cut corners ' and to fall into traps when they wander off the path. Falling into a settlement trap may mean further litigation: a Bloomberg Law search reveals that more than 1,000 lawsuits have been brought in the past decade for breaches of settlement agreements. To craft a settlement that has staying power, and to avoid buyer's remorse, both clients and their counsel should learn how to avoid the most common settlement traps.
1. Talk to Your Adversary
One of us clerked for a federal judge whose practice, when conducting settlement conferences, was to hand the lawyer for each side an index card. On the card, the judge instructed counsel to write down their “no-B.S. settlement number.” For the defendant, this meant the highest number that would willingly be paid. For the plaintiff, it meant the lowest number that would willingly be accepted. The judge would then compare the two cards. Usually, there was a gap between the numbers. Sometimes, however, that gap was small, and the numbers were very close. Once, the plaintiff's and defendant's numbers were exactly the same. Another time, the defendant's number was larger than the plaintiff's. We're not advocating index cards as a new method of mediation. The moral we draw, instead, is that counsel should not be afraid to talk to each other about settlement early on. Particularly in the two cases noted, if counsel had communicated candidly about what their clients needed, expensive trial preparation could have been avoided. Even if it doesn't result in an immediate settlement, a constructive settlement discussion early in the process can educate the parties about their adversaries' positions and help them understand what is really at stake.
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.
Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.