There are no timetables, deadlines or rules governing the conduct of the parties leading up to mediation. The parties prepare independently of each other. Many times, there is little or no “premediation” discussion about settlement except, perhaps, some throw-away...

Some may have experienced what I call the “Friday afternoon problem” in mediation. After a long day, you have hammered out the four corners of a deal. Everyone can summarize the deal on a couple of pages, but the final settlement document will require additional...

When I was a young associate and handling mediations on my own, I really didn’t get it. I mediated too late in the life of the case. I had no relationship with opposing counsel. Mediation advocacy is a lot like sex – for most people you sort of figure it out as you go...

If I have reasonably competent lawyers with equally motivated clients with access to the same information (and those are not trivial caveats), isn’t it fair to believe they will be looking at the same playing field albeit from different sides? Isn’t it reasonable to...

In the context of mediation and settlement, professional liability claims present some challenges that warrant special consideration. Most professional liability policies contain settlement control clauses. Such clauses require the consent of the insured to settle,...