Document Type
Article
Publication Title
New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer
Publication Date
2019
Volume
12(1)
First Page
7
Abstract
(Excerpt)
This column invites readers to consider whether the adjudicated outcome should be relied on as a realistic benchmark for advocates and mediators. In everyday dispute resolution practice, advocates and mediators regularly consider an adjudicated decision to be a realistic point of comparison to a negotiated or mediated outcome. For example, when assessing the merits of settlement, lawyers preparing for a legal negotiation and mediation frequently consider the likely adjudicated outcome as their best alternative to a negotiated agreement (hereinafter BATNA). In mediation, mediators often focus parties and their lawyers on the cost, time and likelihood of a favorable adjudicated decision as part of the mediators’ reality testing with parties who are ambivalent about settling.
Comments
Reprinted with permission from the New York State Bar Association.