A colleague of mine, here at the Firm, is fond of quoting a line from the 1961 Inauguration of one of our Country’s greatest Presidents, John F. Kennedy: “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”
While President Kennedy was referring to our foreign policy, his approach to our country’s adversaries can be applied just as effectively today to contested issues in our civil justice system. Representing Plaintiffs in personal injury matters requires a dedication to a process. That process entails knowing who you are representing, understanding the harms suffered by them, and establishing the facts to support why the injured are entitled to compensation from another person, company, or entity. The key in civil litigation is how to present those key elements in a manner to effectively achieve the end result: the recovery of money damages to make up for the harms and losses. Preparation is at the heart of such an undertaking. Then, once armed with all of the necessary facts and proofs, a plaintiff is ready to present the case for consideration of money damages. How does that presentation occur? The traditional approach has been a jury trial in a courthouse. But while trial by jury, established by the Seventh Amendment to the Constitution, remains an effective means of redress, in recent years, the concept of mediation has provided an equally effective alternative.