We all know that people, including lawyers and their clients, are anxious right now. During the period March 19-24, 2020, the Pew Research Center conducted a poll of 11,537 adults in the United States. The poll revealed that 77 percent of American adults would feel uncomfortable eating out in a restaurant during the current pandemic.
Read MoreCognitive illusions, popularly known as cognitive biases, affect everyone. In the realm of litigation, two such illusions, egocentric and confirmation biases, act as impediments to settlement. But one might ask, don’t the overwhelming majority of civil cases end in settlement? If they do, then we have little reason to be concerned about the effects of possible egocentric and confirmation bias on settlement negotiations.
Read MoreMediation preparation for both the plaintiff’s attorney and the defendant’s attorney rests on an ability to determine the litigation value of the case at issue. The typical approach to this task has its roots in what aspiring litigators learn in their first year of law school: Discern the facts and the applicable law to determine the strength of the plaintiff’s case.
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