Mediation & Settlement Negotiations

Trey has settled several hundred legal disputes through formulation of creative solutions focused on valid objectives coupled with blatant disregard of purely subjective notions of “fairness,” “justice,” “principle,” and “right vs. wrong.”   He has also been involved in far too many fruitless mediation sessions and understands why   many mediations fail.

After more than 25 years’ experience with judges and juries determining litigation outcomes, Trey believes that most legal disputes can and should be settled by the parties and that voluntary settlement is the sole means by which parties retain control over the outcome of their legal matters.

Trey is passionate about maximizing the prospects of settlement through the selection of the right mediator, conducting mediation only at appropriate times during the life of any dispute or lawsuit, and achieving absolute preparedness and case understanding prior to mediation.

Trey’s negotiation philosophy emphasizes never cutting that which can be untied. He has a deep understanding of how emotion and personality drive decision making in legal disputes, and is convinced that the skills required to resolve complex legal disputes are also some of the most critical to living a happy life.

When negotiating, Trey seeks to identify common ground and routinely challenges his clients, opposing parties and opposing counsel to evaluate disputes from a business first, cost-benefit perspective.  This often involves an exercise in dispassionate analysis of the costs, risks, delays and uncertainty of litigation and frank discussion of all potential outcomes and their respective likelihoods.