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Mediation & Chicken Soup?

What do mediation and chicken soup have in common? They?re both good for you!

According to a recent article in The New York Times, ?Study Finds Settling Is Better Than Going To Trial,? a study to be published in the September issue of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies has found that most of the plaintiffs who rejected a settlement offer and went to trial received less money than if they had accepted the offer. Defendants ?made the wrong decision by proceeding to trial far less often, in 24 percent of cases; plaintiffs were wrong in 61 percent of cases. In just 15 percent of cases, both sides were right to go to trial ? meaning that the defendant paid less than the plaintiff had wanted but the plaintiff got more than the defendant had offered.?

Mediators are the ?agents of reality? empowering the parties. This role becomes even more critical in the face of the study?s findings which ?suggest that lawyers may not be explaining the odds to their clients ? or that clients are not listening to their lawyers.?

It's a very interesting article - worth reading!

To email me, click Perry S. Itkin.

Full post as published by Florida Mediator on August 26, 2008 (boomark / email).