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Alan Petlak, the mediator that gets results.

Alan provides creative solutions to the most complicated business disputes. He uses both a facilitative and evaluative approach to narrow the issues and focus the parties on settlement.

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Everyone negotiates differently, but certain patterns emerge over time. Often, a plaintiff will have a much too high settlement demand which will lead to a much too low response to that demand. There are two outcomes when this pattern emerges. Either the parties will methodically make small settlement moves until an agreement on a dollar amount is reached, or the parties will never make any meaningful settlement moves and the case does not settle. To get out of this settlement stagnation pattern, I often encourage parties to make a substantial move to encourage the other party to make a substantial move in return. Two recent mediations illustrate this point. Read More
A strategic Section 998 Offer to Compromise can make all the difference in getting a matter resolved. This was highlighted in one of my recent mediations. The plaintiff was clinging to a speculative damages theory; when faced with a settlement offer that reasonably valued her claim, she was determined to reject the offer and go to trial. In making that decision, plaintiff believed that her “worst-case scenario” was that she would lose at trial. This was before she learned about the heightened risks associated with the threat of being served a 998 Offer to Compromise. Read More

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Alan did a great job of bringing the parties together to settle a matter that I did not believe would settle.

Alan understood the legal issues from the get-go which allowed the parties to focus on resolving the matter instead of educating the mediator.

Alan put my client at ease and his calm demeanor and patience were instrumental in bringing about the settlement.

Alan brought up issues that I had not even focused upon which helped bring the parties together.

Alan, thank you for resolving this case. My client and I were both overjoyed with the result!

Alan blends legal insight with a practical business approach which my business clients appreciate.

I would definitely use Alan again particularly for my most difficult mediations.