People have sung the praises of this idea for a while, but it deserves an encore. Law firms that pride themselves on swinging the wrecking ball of litigation find it difficult to tickle the fancy of the opponent with the sweet talk of settlement.
A stance that privileges prompt and businesslike resolution of matters – the stuff of settlement – depends not only on a different lawyer personality, but also a complementary inside lawyer view and client involvement. For example, senior business executives need to take an active role, sometimes, in talking to their adversarial counterpart about settlement.