An important underlying principle of mediation is that communications made in the course of mediation are not admissible in other civil forums. So, is it okay to make stuff up?
There’s a Rule
California Rule of Professional Conduct 4.1 provides, in part: In the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not knowingly make
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Chatting with ChatGPT
I recently attended a webinar where the speaker stated that as facts emerged in mediation, we would be able on the spot to turn to Artificial Intelligence for a case evaluation.
Uh, no.
Don’t get me wrong. I have test-driven ChatGPT. It is a phenomenal tool and search engine. If you are stuck for…
Biased? Who, me?
At the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, there are two entrance doors to the exhibits, marked Prejudiced and Unprejudiced.
Try to walk through the Unprejudiced door, and you will find that you can’t. All of us are prejudiced in some way.
Implicit Bias
When we hear a news story about a shooter or…
Get These Extras Only in Mediation
Sometimes, parties want something they could never get in a courtroom.
Confidentiality
The most common provision in a settlement agreement that you can’t get in a judgment is a promise to keep the terms of the settlement confidential. Court proceedings are public; mediations are private, as are most settlement agreements.
Note: minors’ settlements and motions…
How Inflation Affects Your Settlement
Prices keep going up for just about every component of expense, including housing, groceries, and medical care. The figure at which your claim will settle is also subject to inflationary pressure. Medical expenses and wages are significant factors in settlement value calculations.
Medical Expense
The June 2023 issue of Business Insurance included an article about…
Are You Really Ready for Mediation?
Make sure these components are in place:
Who will attend the mediation? This should include the person who holds and can modify the authority. That’s the person holding the purse strings on the defense side and important advisors to the claimant, such as a spouse or adult child.
Telephone standby is not good enough. The…
Get Your Kryptonite Ready
Most of us have heard of the concept of a strawman argument. Those are the fallacious arguments you can knock over because they distort the premise to make the proponent’s point. A strawman argument might concentrate on something that hasn’t or will never happen or use circular reasoning (our expert is correct because this expert…
A Visit to the Tort Museum
Did you know there is a tort museum? Located in Winsted, Connecticut, the American Museum of Tort Law has several galleries which educate about precedent-setting cases, including a gallery which focuses on dangerous toys, a product liability issue.
You don’t have to travel to New England to see the exhibits. The website offers several options…
Aftermath of the Big Verdict
Decades ago, I worked on a massive product liability case. I was involved on the coverage side rather than the case in chief.
Defend, No Matter What
The case was national in scope, with hundreds of claims. The manufacturer was in charge of the defense strategy, which was to not give an inch. Its carrier…
Inflation Reduction Act Update
Will the Inflation Reduction Act affect your settlement? A prior post discussed that possibility. A year later, there are developments
The First Drug Designation
The Department of Health and Human Services has named the first ten drugs to be subject to negotiation. The chosen drugs represent about 20% of total Part D annual spending,…