ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the historical changes in settlement work in court and the rise of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) and provides a contrast between the two settings. It considers the joint and private conference sessions and the kind of settlement work which recurrently happens in each. The book explores many repetitive obstacles encountered by judicial mediators in conducting settlement work. It also considers some settlement obstacles which frequently arise in judicial mediation of large money damage cases and investigates how judicial mediators attempt to overcome these impediments. The book addresses judicial mediators' use of legal knowledge and competencies in concession-seeking and settlement advocacy. The book describes the judge-mediator's efforts to prevent the negotiations from becoming sidetracked and to produce movement in the face of various adversarial tactics and posturing by the negotiating lawyers.
