negotiation case value: decision trees in mediation
DESCRIPTION
"Negotiating Case Value: Decision Trees in Mediation," to be presented by John DeGroote on October 8, 2012 to the ADR Section of the Dallas Bar AssociationTRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2012 John DeGroote Services, LLC
Negotiating Case ValueDecision Trees in Mediation
Oct 8, 2012
Dallas Bar Association ADR Section
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If you and the other side value your case
differently, at least one of
you is wrong.
Make sureit isn’t you.
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What Is a Decision Tree?
An illustration that shows the various possible outcomes
in a lawsuit and helps the parties
evaluate the costs, risks and benefits of each outcome.
““
- Daniel Klein
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Why Do a Decision Tree?
•Another Perspectiveon Your Case
• Events
• Contingencies
• Probabilities
• Timelines
• Costs
•What Does “Unlikely” Mean?
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Who Can Decision Trees Help?
•Four Audiences• Counsel
• Clients
• The Mediator
• Folks Back Home
•Can You Share Them with the Other Side?
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How Do You Create a Decision Tree?
1 2 3 4
ListLitigation
Events
ConsiderCosts or
Gains of Each
Discount Eachby ProbabilityIt Will Occur
Do theMath
Image from ResolutionTree.com
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Another Example
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…and Just One More
Image © Litigation Risk Analysis, Inc.
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Responding to the Naysayers
• They Objectify Litigation
• Not Everyone Is Rational
• The Parties Won’t Agree on a Number
• The Results Are Unreliable
• They Are Only for Commercial Cases
• Nobody Else Does Them
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John DeGrootePresident, John DeGroote Services, LLC
John DeGroote is a court-appointed trustee, settlement counsel and former global company general counsel who believes that hands-on leadership, early matter assessment, and aggressive project management drive results.
Serves as the Liquidating Trustee to the BearingPoint, Inc. Liquidating Trust through John DeGroote Services, LLC.
Served as BearingPoint, Inc.’s Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer from 2008 through August of 2009, and as the Company’s Chief Litigation Counsel from 2000 through 2008.
Previously practiced with the law firms of McKool Smith, P.C. and Jackson Walker, L.L.P., with a focus on complex technology, commercial, and intellectual property litigation matters for and against various Fortune 500 companies.
Currently serves as settlement counsel to select clients involved in significant disputes.
Received his mediation training from Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in 2005. Has participated in over 200 mediations as a client or as an advocate in approximately 20 states.
Serves as a co-founder to online decision tree tool ResolutionTree.com and comments on litigation management, settlement techniques and negotiation strategies at settlementperspectives.com.
• J.D., Duke University School of Law • B.A., Mississippi State University
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Contact
John DeGrootePresident, John DeGroote Services, LLC
web johndegroote.com
email [email protected]
office (214) 887-3484
cell (214) 288-6864
address Hickory Street Annex501 S 2nd Avenue, Suite A-700Dallas, Texas 75226
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