Law 531 Week 3 Team Paper

Settlement or Litigation

LAW 531

October 13, 2011

Kathy Geremia

Settlement or Litigation

There are many decisions a person needs to make when involved in a court case. Two factors are whether to settle the case or pursue litigation. In this paper, we will discuss when a person should settle or pursue litigation and at what point is there a need to have counsel available.

Deciding Factors whether to take a settlement or litigation is a decision a client would want to talk over with the attorney. The client tangible cost of the crime, such as “medical expenses, mental health counseling and loss of productivity is estimated at $105 billion annually” (United States Department of Justice, 2006). In looking at the intangible costs for the “pain and suffering and reduced quality of life is $345 billion annually” (United States Department of Justice, 2006).

|Settlement versus Litigation |

|Criteria Applied in Decision-Making |Achieve a fair outcome that parties can |Strictly apply established law to the facts |

| |voluntarily accept. |found in each case. |

|Who is in Control, Set the Rules and |The parties, their counsel and the Mediator |Congress, State Legislature, Supreme Court, |

|Procedures? |whom they chose to assist them control the |Local Courts, Judge assigned to the case |

| |process and rules. | |

|Time, Convenience |Preparation and meeting times are set at the |Timelines are imposed by a Case Scheduling |

| |convenience of the parties and...