Archives for 18 October 2011
In Defence of Opening Statements at Mediation
There has been a strong movement lately to get rid of Opening Statements (sometimes called Storytelling or an Opening) at the beginning of mediations. Lawyers tell me that they each understand the other side’s case, and won’t be persuaded by each other’s arguments, so don’t see the point in having an Opening. They also suggest that the Opening Statements will polarize and unnecessarily antagonize.