In his almost two years as a mediator and his 18 years as a judge, John H. Sugiyama came to realize that many lawyers and clients go into mediation or settlement talks without first figuring out what they want to accomplish.
"People just assume that a beneficial result will come to them," he said. "But the consequence of not thinking about it on the front end is that more often than not people engage in what Henry Kissinger call... (continued)