Ah, that unforgettable line uttered by Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. As a matrimonial attorney, this is what it feels like we deal with quite often. But I am not referring to people just being demanding, I am talking about people making unreasonable demands, with no apparent justification in law or
Negotiations
How Not to Settle Your Case – Part II
Posted on
Posted in Mediation/Arbitration, Practice Issues
Last year, I wrote on this blog about “How to Not Settle Your Case.” This case on the heels of several months of “interesting”, to say the least, negotiations on several matters which got me thinking about creating a list of things to do if you really don’t want to settle your case.…
Enter the Realm of Reasonableness
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
Yesterday, I blogged about the illusory "final offer", noting that most cases settle. The reason for that is that there is a realm of reason, a range if you will, where cases with similar facts and circumstances, should resolve themselves based upon experience, statutes, case law, Guidelines, etc. In most cases, absent wide valuation disparities, esoteric…
This Is My Final Offer, Except When It's Not
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
This is my final offer!!! Don’t you just love the ultimatum, the line in the sand, the threat of Armageddon if capitulation is not immediately at hand? I sure do. Is it because I love to go to trial? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy trial but that is not the reason.
Seldom does it mean…
The Never Ending Negotiation – Death By A Thousand Paper Cuts
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
Several years ago, I posted a blog entitled "Some Times You Just Have to Try a Case." In that post, I discussed that there are some times where a litigant simply refuses to settle making a trial inevitable. Are there times, however, when a trial might be less costly, quicker and preferable to long, drawn…
No One Ever Just Says That Their Client Changed Their Mind
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
I sit here stewing on this overcast Friday because the other side reneged on the settlement in two matters, after we believed we were all but resolved in both. Whether or not these were enforceable settlements is a topic for another blog. That said, one is particularly frustrating because the other side essentially undid a…
Putting A Stop to Threatening, Bad Faith Negotiations
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
Recently, I was involved in a negotiation that seemed, for the first time, to be moving in the right direction. However, at one point when it was getting toward the end of the negotiation, the next counter proposal started, "you have to get rid of your dogs and sell the house …"
I did not need…
How to Not Settle Your Case
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
Having just experienced several months of "interesting", to say the least, negotiations on several matters, it got me thinking about creating a list of things to do if you really don’t want to settle your case. Hey, every body is entitled to their day in court if they want it. So what if there is…
4 Way Conferences – They Are Not Only for Final Settlement
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
I have to admit it. I have not always been a fan of the 4-way conference. Often, they have been the bastion of bad behavior, posturing and often just not as productive as mediation with attorneys present or negotiations back and forth, in writing, between counsel. That said, I am beginning to come around to seeing the…
Creating "Settlement Anxiety" at Mediation – Is It Fair When One Party is Acting Unreasonably?
By Eric S. Solotoff on
Posted in Practice Issues
Last year, I blogged on this topic after I was at a mediation where the mediator, when telling us his assessment of my client’s case, said that he was creating "settlement anxiety." At the time, I had never heard of this term but what I believed was meant was that the mediator wanted the client to…