Brent Peterson

Don't Litigate - Mediate Your Dispute! - Popular culture tends to depict legal proceedings by virtue of television and movie dramatizations of highly charged courtroom battles, filled with emotion and justice and, of course, victory to the party who is victimized and harmed in some (usually dramatic) way. These big screen depictions can appeal to our deepest desires to receive our own vindication in the same fashion for real harm and injury someone may have caused to us. Yet, the truth is, the vast majority of cases never get to the Courtroom, because they settle at some point before a trial. According to a recent American Bar Association article, 97% of all civil cases end before trial, most of these through settlement.* The closer the parties get to trial, the more expensive litigation becomes. The more the case progresses, the more money a party must spend on the process and in attorney fees (excepting maybe contingent fee matters). There is also another frequently overlooked cost to the parties: that is, the physical, psychological and emotional toll that litigation can take on a person. No one is ever quite the same after litigation, even the "winner." One must also consider the risk of trial and of judge-made decisions in the process. There is no guarantee how a judge may rule or jury may decide. The only decision that is guaranteed is the decision the parties make themselves in arriving at a settlement. Thus, the sooner a case settles before trial, the sooner the parties can regain control and stop depleting their financial and emotional resources on further litigating their case.
* Endless Liability? Evaluating whether to settle ot litigate private environmental lawsuits at regulated sites. (John Rauchway and Mave Gasaway, November 8th, 2018, AmericanBar.org)