Mediation is a name called Opportunity: This week, Mike discusses party negotiation strategies from the viewpoint of veteran mediator/trainer Bennett G. Picker, a partner in Philadelphia's Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP. Ben provides strategic thinking on how parties can identify and take advantage of opportunities when negotiating disputes, and how mediation presents an ideal forum for creating these opportunities. This IDN episode dissects party negotiating positions from a master's point of view, and shows how strategic thinking about something as basic as offers and counteroffers can shift the bargaining to a party's side of the table. Listen closely. Not wanting to miss an opportunity even when discussing a hypothetical dispute, Ben e-mailed IDN after the recording to note that, on reflection, the defendant might have even greater success at the end of the negotiations if it were to start with a counter-intuitively higher--yet more credible--initial counteroffer of $1.2 million, as opposed to the $750,000 discussed in the podcast. This is strategic thinking in dispute negotiations at its best. Ben provides strategic thinking on how parties can identify and take advantage of opportunities when negotiating disputes, and how mediation presents an ideal forum for creating these opportunities. This IDN episode dissects party negotiating positions from a master's point of view, and shows how strategic thinking about something as basic as offers and counteroffers can shift the bargaining to a party's side of the table.