How Can I Tell What is a Reasonable Settlement in a Civil Case?
Evaluating Settlement OptionsWhether through mediation or just the ordinary course of your attorney negotiating with the other side, you are likely to face a decision or series of decisions about what you are willing to do or accept to settle the case.
This is normal. Over 97% of civil cases settle before going to trial. It is also normal to be unsure how to think about a reasonable settlement. You of course will be advised by your attorney what they think is reasonable. It is also helpful to understand the basic analysis. That is: what is the maximum potential liability, and what is your attorney's best estimate of the chances of that outcome occurring. By way of example, if the maximum recovery is $100,000 and the plaintiff has a 50% chance of winning, most attorneys would put the settlement value at $50,000. Understand though that each side puts different numbers on that. A plaintiff's attorney might say a 75% chance of $100,000, while the defense says it is a 40% chance of recovering $60,000. In that scenario, one side things the settlement value is $75,000, while the other side thinks it is $24,000. In most cases, finding a place in between those two numbers is how you get to a settlement. Learn more here about civil lawsuit settlements. |
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Meet Our Trial Attorneys
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years, with a focus on complex business litigation. In 2009, she started the firm that became slnlaw. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year for a precedent-setting victory at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients with business and employment disputes. Emily has handled cases at every level of the state system, in the federal trial court, and before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has successfully defended numerous employers in the MCAD, and litigated other business and employment disputes throughout the state court system and in the federal trial court.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has litigated both plaintiff and defendant cases in the state court system, MCAD, and the federal trial court.
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