Business Mediation Guru Robert A. Steinberg took on the vexing question most often posed to mediators in a dynamite Daily Journal article just last month -- How and When to Broach Settlement. 

If you're not on Bob's mailing list, you should be.  Here's a taste of the DJ Article that will pump you up.  Follow Bob's sound advice and you'll approach settlement without ever again worrying that the beach bully might kick sand in your face.

For all its rational veneer, negotiation is at base animal behavior. We fear to raise settlement because we think that “blinking first” is an admission of weakness and will cost us some measure of settlement value.

Parties often talk settlement at the beginning of the case, before they have spent much money, or after the completion of discovery, when they have developed the information they feel they need for trial. But you should consider raising settlement at other times: before a risk-magnifying event (such as a major motion or a heavy financial commitment) or whenever the settlement value of your case is most favorable.

For the remainder of Bob's article, click here.