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Study Finds Settling Is Better Than Going to Trial

By JONATHAN D. GLATER
New York Times
Published: August 8, 2008

Note to victims of accidents, medical malpractice, broken contracts and the like: When you sue, make a deal.

That is the clear lesson of a soon-to-be-released study of civil lawsuits that has found that most of the plaintiffs who decided to pass up a settlement offer and went to trial ended up getting less money than if they had taken that offer.

“The lesson for plaintiffs is, in the vast majority of cases, they are perceiving the defendant’s offer to be half a loaf when in fact it is an entire loaf or more,” said Randall L. Kiser, a co-author of the study and principal analyst at DecisionSet, a consulting firm that advises clients on litigation decisions.

Defendants made the wrong decision by proceeding to trial far less often, in 24 percent of cases, according to the study; plaintiffs were wrong in 61 percent of cases. In just 15 percent of cases, both sides were right to go to trial — meaning that the defendant paid less than the plaintiff had wanted but the plaintiff got more than the defendant had offered.

The vast majority of cases do settle — from 80 to 92 percent by some estimates, Mr. Kiser said — and there is no way to know whether either side in those cases could have done better at trial. But the findings, based on a study of 2,054 cases that went to trial from 2002 to 2005, raise provocative questions about how lawyers and clients make decisions, the quality of legal advice and lawyers’ motives.

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UPCOMING EVENTS & SEMINARS

Many of our esteemed Neutrals and colleagues at Judicate West are proud to be speaking and/or attending these educational and professional conferences for the following associations.

February 3 - ABTL Program and Dinner, The Nuremberg Legacy: How the Nazi War Crimes Trials Changed the Course of History, The Westin South Coast Plaza, 6pm Cocktails, 7pm Dinner and Program

February 6 - Consumer Attorney's of San Diego Annual Awards and Installation Dinner, U.S. Grant Hotel, San Diego

February 6 - ABOTA Installation/ Presidents Dinner Dance, Marconi Automotive Museum www.ocabota.org

March 4 - American Bankruptcy Institute, 18th Annual Bankruptcy Battleground West, Hyatt Century Plaza, LA www.abiworld.org 

March 4-5
- Southern CA Defense Counsel annual seminar, Biltmore Hotel, Downtown LA www.ascdc.org

March 6 - Hispanic Bar Association Annual Installation Dinner, Grand Californian, Anaheim, www.ochba.org

March 8
- 11th Annual Easter Seals Invitational Golf Tournament, Alta Vista Country Club, Placentia 

March 11-13 - IAM Conference Annual Meeting, Park City Utah www.iamed.org

March 19-21 - Retired Judges Association, Retired Judges Conference, Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa

March 23 - Judge Michel Inn of Court - LA Intellectual Property AIC

April 26 - ABOTA Golf Tournament

May 13 - Federal Bar Association Reception Honoring the Federal Judiciary, City Hall, Tom Bradley Room www.fedbar.org

May 21-23 - California Bankruptcy Forum, Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency Monterey www.calbf.org

September 23-25 - American Bankruptcy Institute, 18th Annual Southwest Bankruptcy Conference, Four Seasons, Las Vegas www.abiworld.org

October 13-17 - National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, New Orleans, Louisiana www.ncbj.org

October 20-24 - ABTL 37th annual seminar, The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Hawaii www.ncbj.org
 

 

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