Facilitation, Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution
Joseph P. McMahon Jr

303-333-1960   Fax: 303-322-8044

617 Steele St., Denver CO  80206-3941

Site Map    E-Mail: mail@jpmcmahon.com

Better Negotiation and Smarter Settlements

Lawyers, business persons, government officials, economists and sociologists have learned a great deal in the last decade about how negotiations and settlement agreements can be improved.  However, much of their advice remains unused -- theories on the bookshelf rather than improved settlements.

My efforts in settlement are to bridge the gap between theory and practice so that clients receive better negotiations and improved settlements.  I have served as an instructor in courses involving both mediation, ADR, settlement and advanced negotiations.

 

 

The key elements of this are:
Higher and mutual levels of disclosure
Use of interest based bargaining processes
Ensure that negotiations involve both legal and business interests, not just litigation risk avoidance
Improved assessments of risks and opportunities
Avoidance of the customary "settlement culture"
Explicit discussion of and work to avoid the common settlement decision making errors
Seeking optimal settlement rather than the settlement that is minimally acceptable to all parties
Where mediation is used, aim to the highest mediation goals
Recognizing and therefore dealing with the difficulty in settlement negotiations