New Book Released on Making Good Litigation Decisions

Thanks to John Lande’s blog post at Indisputably, I just became aware of a new ABA book: Litigation Interest and Risk Assessment: Help Your Clients Make Good Litigation Decisions. 

Having read the table of contents and introduction, I immediately ordered a copy. The book appears to do under one cover something that hasn’t been done before. 

Co-authored by Professors John Lande, Michaela Keet and Heather Heavin, the book addresses three topics: the need for litigation interest risk assessment (or “LIRA”), the elements of LIRA, and helping clients consider their interests and risks. Discussion of the ethical obligation of lawyers to counsel their clients on all litigation interest risks (not just financial outcome) is noteworthy. So too is the analysis of tools and techniques available to parties, lawyers and mediators facing a difficult litigation. 

As I’ve written previously, I view the mediator’s role as one of active partnership with the parties and their counsel to get to the heart of their dispute, understand their interests, and craft a pathway to settlement. Understanding and accounting for litigation interest risks is crucial to this process.

I look forward to reading this book, and will report back here when I do.

(Photo by Stux on Pixabay)