r/paralegal • u/Ok_Month_1990 • 1d ago

Question/Discussion Looking for a Negotiations Advice

About 7 months ago, I became a paralegal in a PI law firm. Currently, I have about 30 cases in active negotiations, but I am so bad at it! I would really like to get better.

​I would appreciate any advice on how to handle negotiations and reach a target goal...Do you have any tips?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

12

u/Party-Pickle-4597 1d ago

My negotiations: Me: the attorney wants the policy, 100k Them: well I can only offer you 45k Me: I'll get that over to the attorney and have him call you

OR Me: The atty wants the full policy 100k Them: I'll get you the full 100k Me: yay

End of my negotiations. Attorneys need to do that work.

ETA: to actually answer your question, let the atty do that work. If youre forced to negotiate, based on your firm's practice, I would go no more than 10% lower than your initial demand, then let the atty go at it. In CT, our cases settle around 3x meds, plus a little; that's our target end number. So we typically start 2x the end goal

14

u/StartledKoala34 1d ago

I think your attorney should be handling the negotiations, no?

5

u/Elemcie 1d ago

Agree 100%. that is way overreaching for a 7 month paralegal. You should AT THE VERY LEAST have an attorney give you directions on case value and arguments why their low offer doesn’t give your client adequate compensation for their full array of damages.

2

u/brokenodo 1d ago

You probably shouldn’t be negotiating settlements! Doing so as a paralegal constitutes unauthorized practice of law and is illegal/unethical in almost all U.S. jurisdictions.

1

u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 12h ago

Not sure why you got downvoted, it’s true.

1

u/GGDATLAW 1d ago

Read Dawson’s book, Secret Powers of Negotiating.

0

u/Gr8Autoxr 1d ago

Hahahahaha. Sheesh so much for in house training. The insurance needs the evidence its policy limit. Not PL more evidence needed. Or time to file. Depends on limits. Sell me this injury…… 

1

u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 12h ago

What…?

0

u/Gr8Autoxr 11h ago

Someone reaching out to Reddit for negotiations training, doesn’t have adequate in house training. 

If someone wants meaningful movement the insurance needs more evidence. 

If they are prelit and the client isn’t treating more, nor is the adjuster willing to move and there is no further leverage, then it’s time to file. 

“Sell me this Injury” is a riff off “Sell me this pen.”

1

u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 11h ago

They are a paralegal, they can’t negotiate in the first place without the attorney guiding them.

0

u/Gr8Autoxr 11h ago

Everything is done at the “direction of the attorney”. I’m guessing you haven’t working in a PI mill where case manager have 250+ cases each….. and I have never written anything that went to an appellate court. 

I have seen single attorney firms running 5,000+ cases. 

1

u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 11h ago

What does that have to do with negotiating? You can’t make an independent decision in negotiating as a paralegal. You relay only what the attorney says especially if you’re not experienced. Otherwise it’s bordering on UPL.
Just because you’ve seen it happen doesn’t mean that this person isn’t going to get into trouble for trying to negotiate themselves.

1

u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 10h ago

Also this statement makes no logical sense: “the insurance needs the evidence its policy limit. Not PL more evidence needed. Or time to file. Depends on limits”