In a recent mediation, an attorney shared with me the interesting comment that: “Trials are the result of failed lawyering.”  While that may overstate the case, it struck me as a pretty wise perspective.

While trials have a sacred place in our constitutional, historical and jurisprudential legacy, for most clients they are expensive and terrifying, with uncertain outcomes.  They are a roller coaster with a propensity for ejecting riders from great heights.