Deep_in_thought

Randall Kiser To Address NJ Dispute Resolution Section On Effective Decision Making

January 9, 2012

       The New Jersey State Bar Association\’s Dispute Resolution Section is offering a three part series of programs on decision making entitled “Judgments: How We Reach Them And How We Can Improve Them.” The series will open with a presentation on January 24, 2012 by Randall Kiser, the principal analyst at DecisionSet and an expert on attorney-client decision making. He is the author of two books, Beyond Right and Wrong: The Power of Effective Decision Making for Attorneys and Clients, and How Leading Lawyers Think: Expert Insights Into Judgment and Advocacy.

       Randall Kiser\’s work first got my attention in 2008 when the study underlying his first book was released and covered by The New York Times. Most notably, his study revealed that in 85 percent of the cases that went to trial, the final outcome after trial was outside the last zone of settlement determined by the parties prior to trial. (In my view, this means that mediation offers much better odds than going to trial.)

       Participants in this program will explore whether our customary means of evaluating disputes is impeding or facilitating their resolution. The program will be offered at the NJSBA\’s Law Center in New Brunswick at 6:00 p.m., and will include dinner and 1.5 CLE credits. It is a great opportunity to hear a nationally recognized authority address a topic that is central to our professional lives, but not well understood. Pre-registration is available on the NJSBA website.

       Subsequent programs in this series will focus on decision making in the contexts of arbitration (February 28) and mediation (March 27). Details on these programs will follow in upcoming posts.

[Image: Deep In Thought, by Ben Pollard, March 16, 2008]