November 14, 2006 (New Brunswick, NJ) - White & Associates, P.C. name partner David M. White, Esq. delivered an invited guest lecture to the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) New Jersey affiliate tonight. Founded in 1985, NELA’s more than 3,000 members advocate for employee rights and workplace fairness.
Mr. White’s presentation, “Using Principled Negotiation in Employment Suits,” focused on plaintiff’s bar representational best practices within the context of mediated settlement.
“The perception that employee grievances find redress through jury verdict or bench trial does not square with the modern legal reality,” Mr. White commented. “Through its work with the Vanishing Trial Project, the American Bar Association has empirically demonstrated that 98.2% of all civil actions are resolved through negotiated settlement. Such data powerfully suggests that attorneys should employ a problem-solving approach beginning with the drafting of a demand letter.”
An Adjunct Professor at the Fordham University School of Law, Mr. White drew upon scholarship pioneered by colleagues at the Harvard Program on Negotiation. He challenged the audience to present their clients’ interests from the perspective of needs, not wants. Through appeal to objective criteria, counsel can realize greater success in the critical areas of back pay, front pay and metal anguish, pain and suffering (MAPS).
“Zealous advocacy begins with the understanding that the greatest single resource a litigator can possess is the ability to effectively negotiate,” Mr. White opined. “Whether the case is settled in the pre-filing phase or years later on the courthouse steps, only the rarest of litigation will see its day in court. Attorneys who appreciate that fact are better positioned to achieve positive results and contain client costs.” |