What do Defence Counsel Need to Hear from Plaintiff's Counsel to Settle?

Fiona Porter discusses the secret too a successful negotiation

Fiona Porter, Intact Insurance’s Director, Casualty, is a former litigator with experience both litigating for insurers and supervising others who did so as the manager of their substantial litigation office in Ottawa. She knows whereof she speaks. In a wide-ranging interview, Fiona waxed eloquent on the the subject of professionalism, but that is a subject for a later day. Actually, you can listen to it here - it’s a great listen!

The purpose of the interview was to delve into what makes insurers willing to settle claims - often highly contentious claims. It turns out that insurers distrust claimants as much as the reverse is true. The secret to success is to disclose your secrets. Figure out what insurers want to know and let them know it in an authoritative format - expert opinions, records, statements. Let them in on the secrets before trial, as the Rules of Civil Procedure require anyway.

Listen to Fiona describe how she went about settling claims and overcoming the natural reticence of plaintiff’s counsel to show their cards. Here is the podcast, in its entirety, from www.chatwithlawyers.ca.