By Mai Nguyen The American Bar Association (ABA) conducts extensive survey on legal malpractice claims every four years. The survey concludes that every practicing lawyer is potentially at risk for legal malpractice. It was once believed that solo practitioners were at the highest risk, however, research has found that lawyers at small, medium, and large …
Those who are injured in auto accidents and are facing mediation may question what happens at mediation for auto accidents. Auto accidents are difficult circumstances, and dealing with insurance companies to try and recover from injuries can add to the difficulty. Negotiations with insurance companies can often come up short of an agreement because insurance …
By David C. Peterson It’s no secret that insurance carriers have altered their practices in the past several years. Authority and independent judgment they previously possessed has been removed from adjusters, managers, and supervisors as executives in the companies strive for uniformity in claims handling and ironclad control over settlement decisions. Rarely at mediation is …
After a long day of negotiations, the parties have finally agreed on a way to resolve the case and settle their dispute, however, there is still one more decision to make—whether to put that agreement in a stipulated judgment or a settlement agreement. On the surface, the two options look very similar. Both include the …
By Scott Van Soye George nervously drummed his fingers on the desk. He was torn. On the one hand, he’d known this lawsuit ought to settle the moment Brad Givens retained him. The facts were weak, the law was unsettled, and Brad could make real money in partnership with the defendants, if they could stop …
By Mark Grossman & Scott Van Soye A cake recipe says to add all of the required ingredients, and then place it in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. The chef, who is in a rush, takes a shortcut and leaves out an important cooling process and places the cakes in the oven …
By Terri Lubaroff Donald ambled into the conference room with difficulty. He looked like a nice, working class man in his retirement years, but the gray pall he carried indicated his health wasn’t going to let him do a whole lot of fishing on his beloved Lake Havasu any time soon. Donald slipped in a …
By Terri Lubaroff Problems, Problems Everywhere… Anyone who has ever worked as corporate counsel knows it ain’t easy. Corporate counsel has to deal with lawsuits, human resources, risk management, internal politics, and an ever-changing landscape of compliance landmines. To make matters worse, the higher-ups do what they want, when they want… and then they come …
Physics defines power as work divided by time. Work, in turn, is the application of force in a direction. Power, then, can be thought of as the ability to get things moving (more) quickly in a desired direction. The same definition applies in social interactions like negotiation. Power is the ability to get desired things …
Nicole was frustrated: “I know I’m behind on the rent – business is slow and I can’t afford $9,000 a month for this place! George needs to get real! He’s made a ton of money from me. He needs to stop being so greedy… I only can pay $7,000 a month… at least until business …