Overconfidence can Sabotage a Good Settlement Offer.

In a study of more than 2000 actual cases in California in 2008 even the most experienced litigators frequently rejected settlement offers that turned out to have been better than the results they ultimately obtained at trial!

Other studies have corroborated these results. Misplaced belief in their own experience and skills or the strength of their cases led these attorneys to have an overly optimistic belief in their ability to obtain a better result than they actually obtained.

Many factors play into this overconfidence and misplaced optimism at the negotiating table, including black and white thinking about the "settlement pie," misunderstanding their opponents motives in offering a settlement, and a biased perception of what constitutes "fairness."