Law360, New York (August 16, 2010) -- Too often, parties make decisions during settlement negotiations that end up costing them money. They may, for example, reject an offer, thinking they will receive or save more by proceeding with litigation. In many cases, however, their best option for preserving value would be to accept the resolution achieved through negotiation.

There is empirical proof of this. In 2008, Randall Kiser of DecisionSet in Palo Alto, Calif., and Martin Asher and Blakely McShane of the Wharton School undertook a large-scale analysis of attorney-litigant decision-making.