Bill,

I represented a defendant in a mediation recently where our client strongly believed there to be no liability, but knew the case would be extremely costly to take to trial.  The client was willing to pay to settle the case early.  During the opening statements, after explaining the theory of liability Plaintiff’s counsel looked my client in the eyes and said very abruptly, “This case is not settling today.  We are not willing to take a penny less than our demand and if you aren’t willing to offer that, then you can walk yourself out the door.” This of course infuriated my client, who tried to stand up and walk out.  Luckily I was able to calm my client down and get through our opening statements, but the mediation from that point forward had a nasty tone and the authority that was once on the table was reduced by almost 75%.

While being passionate about your case and strongly advocating for your client are understood, insulting the opposing party at the outset of the mediation is never a good idea.