CRS640

Robinson, P. (2009). Settlement Conference Judge--Legal Lion or Problem Solving Lamb: An Empirical Documentation of Judicial Settlement Conference Practices and Techniques. American Journal of Trial Advocacy, 33(1), 113–165.
Settlements play an increased role in modern litigation. Judges employ a diverse range of methods in reaching a settlement and are motivated by a variety of factors. The survey addressed in this article aims to track these methods and factors and convey this data to litigators and judges for whom settlement negotiations are an increasingly prevalent part of their practices.

Wade, J. (2001). Don’t Waste My Time on Negotiation and Mediation: This Dispute Needs a Judge. Mediation Quarterly, 18(3), 259–280. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.3890180306
This article contains two parts. First, there is a framework aimed at encouraging lawyers and other conflict managers to be overtly analytical when deciding which interventions may or may not be helpful in a particular conflict. Second, to illustrate this analytical framework, there are two lists of factors or diagnostic indicators that suggest that certain conflicts probably need the decision of an umpire or judge and that certain other conflicts probably need written claims to be filed in a court or tribunal.

Reese, G. (2020). Should I Settle or Should I Go (To Trial)? An Analysis of the Dearth of Trials in the Modern Era and the Resulting Effects on Settlements. Law & Psychology Review, 44, 297–317.
The article reports on the declining use of trials to resolve lawsuits and the resulting effects on settlement agreements in the U.S. Topics discussed include the decline's implications for alternative dispute resolution, empirical and practical evidences for the decline in the use of trials, and practical steps that lawyers can take to overcome the psychological fear of going to trial.