Alternative Dispute Resolution
Jul. 17, 2026
Skipping the dance: Moving past the opening ritual in mediation
Effective mediators can overcome the familiar pattern of extreme opening demands and incremental concessions by using strategic interventions before and during mediation to build trust, encourage realistic bargaining and keep negotiations focused on resolution rather than positional posturing.
Jill M. Manning
Mediator, Arbitrator, Special Master, Neutral Evaluator and Discovery Referee
JAMS
Phone: (415) 433-9000
Email: JManning@jamsadr.com
University of San Francisco SOL; San Francisco CA
She handles antitrust and competition, business and commercial, class action and mass torts, cybersecurity and privacy, education, employment, entertainment and sports, health care and securities matters.
There is a scene that plays out in mediation rooms so often it has become a ritual. The plaintiff opens with a sky-high number that makes the defendant roll their eyes. The defendant counters with an offer so low it borders on insulting. Both sides are irritated before the real work has begun, and the next several hours unfold in a slow, grinding march of incremental moves while the mediator shuttles between rooms carrying numbers that barely move.
Many ...
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