Litigation & Arbitration
May 29, 2025
The psychology of settling vs. litigating
Litigation is more like poker than sports--driven by strategy, ego, and emotional biases, where decisions to settle or go to trial hinge less on law and evidence, and more on human psychology, emotional drivers, and the elusive pursuit of "being right."
Leonid M. Zilberman
Partner
Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP
Phone: (619) 236-9600
Email: lzilberman@wilsonturnerkosmo.com
Lonny practices employment law, diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as mediation and alternative dispute resolution and provides anti-harassment and other employment-related training to California Employers.
I believe that a majority of trial
lawyers would agree that if litigation were a sport, it wouldn't be football or
baseball, it would be poker. A slow burn of strategy, ego, bluffing and
psychological maneuvering. And just like in poker, some players stay in the
game far too long, not because they're holding a royal flush (the highest hand),
but because they think they are.
As Yogi Berra famously stated, "Base...
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