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DecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:TheBasics
AsampleDecisionTree,availablein
\o"ASampleDecisionTree,WithSupportingDataatPageTwo"
.pdfformathere
.
Iremembermyfirstmediationdecisiontree.Itwaslateintheday,justbeforeimpasse,andourmediatorwasdesperatetoshowmyclientandmethatwehadmisvaluedthecase.
Ashesketcheditforustheapproachmadesense,butthatwasnotimetopickupanewtechnique.
Hiseffortendednodifferentthanmostattemptstolearnaboutdecisiontreesonthefly—withaconfusedclient,afrustratedmediatorandalawyerabouttochangethesubject.
FifteenyearslaterIknowthevalueofadecisiontreeand,justasimportant,howtoreallyuseone—inconnectionwithsettlementdiscussionsandasapartofan
\o"SettlementPerspectives'"TheEarlyCaseAssessmentChecklist:EarlyCaseAssessmentsPartII""
EarlyCaseAssessment
beforesettlementtalksbegin.Admittedlytheytakealittleeffortandsomepractice,butwhetheryou’realawyeroramediatorortheirclient,you’llseeonesoon.Knowingwhatadecisiontreeisandhowtodiagramyourswillbeworththeinvestment.
WhatIsaDecisionTreeAnyway?
Oftenusedinthe
\o"'s"DecisionTreeAnalysisChoosingBetweenOptionsbyProjectingLikelyOutcomes""
businessworld
,decisiontreesare“tree-shapedmodelsof[a]decisiontobemadeandtheuncertaintiesitencompasses,”accordingto
\o"SuffolkUniversityLawSchool'sBioforDwightGolann"
DwightGolann
in
\o"A'sListingforDwightGolann's1995Book"MediatingLegalDisputes""
MediatingLegalDisputes
.Adecisiontree“showsthevariouspossibleoutcomesinalawsuitandhelpsthepartiesevaluatethecosts,risksandbenefitsofeachoutcome,”as
\o"DanKlein'sBioat"
DanielKlein
discussesmorefullyinhisarticle
\o"DanKlein's"DecisionTrees&TheArboretum"at"
DecisionTrees&TheArboretum
.
Statedsimply,thedecisiontreeisatoolusedtovaluethemultiplefinancialoutcomespossibleinanylitigation—whethersummaryjudgmentisgranted,theplaintiff“wins”asmallamount,orsomethingelsehappens.
Justasimportant,decisiontreesarriveatthesevaluesbytranslatingthesubjectivejudgmentoftrialcounselintomonetaryterms—as
\o""SpeakClearlyAndUnderstandably"byPatrickJ.Lamb"
PatrickLamb
and
\o""SoftwareMakesDecisionAnalysisEasy"byRonFriedmannandDavidPost"
RonFriedmannandDavidPost
havepointedoutbefore,yourtriallawyer’sinterpretationof“agoodchanceofwinning”mightbevery,verydifferentfromyours.Adecisiontreecaneliminatethislatentdisconnect.
TheFourStepsinCreatingaDecisionTree
\o"BioforKathleenM.ScanlononHerWebsite"
KathleenM.Scanlon’s
conciseandhelpful
\o"CPR'sLinktothe"Mediator'sDeskbook""
Mediator’sDeskbook
,publishedby
\o"LinktotheFAQPageforCPR,theInternationalInstituteforConflictPrevention&Resolution"
CPR
,tellsusthatdecisiontreesinvolvefoursteps:
Listingthevariouspossibleeventswhichmightoccurinthecourseoflitigation(orbeyond);
Consideringthecostsorgainsassociatedwitheachpossibility;
Discountingeachpossibilitybyitsprobability-estimatedlikelihoodthatitwilloccur;and
Evaluatingtheoverallpicturebymultiplyingeachpossibilitybyitsprobability.
MakeDecisionTreesWorkforYou
Youdon’tneedtowaituntilyournextmediationtolearnaboutdecisiontreeanalysis,becauseputtingthesefourstepsintoactionisn’thard:
IdentifyOutcomes.Considereveryoutcomeinyourcasethat’sarealisticpossibility—theplaintifftakesyourinitial
\o"SettlementPerspectives'"Rule68andOffersofJudgment:HowTheyWorkandWhyYouShouldCare""
Rule68
offer,thecourtgrantssummaryjudgment,youlosebecauseyoucan’tgetthatvideotapeintoevidence,orwhatever.Onceyoulisteverywherethecasecouldpossiblygo,sketchthoseoutcomesona“tree”similartotheoneabove,reproducedina.pdfformat(withadditionalexplanationifyouscrolltopagetwo)
\o"ASampleDecisionTree,WithSupportingDataatPageTwo"
here
.
ConsidertheCostsofEachPossibleOutcome.Onceyouknoweverypathyourcasecouldrealisticallytake,considerwhatitwillcosttogetdowneachpathandwhatyou’llhavetopaywhenyougetthere—andaddthosesumstoyourtree.Summaryjudgmentmaybethecheapestwayoutofthecaseforadefendant,butit’llcostsomething(say,$40,000intheexampleabove)evenifyouwin.Ittakesmoneytogettomediation,trialorappeal,andmoremoneyoftenchangeshandsonceyou’rethere.Addtheseamountstogetherforeachbranch,andlistthemonthetree.
ListtheChancesThatEachPossibleOutcomeWillOccur.Onceyouknoweverywhereyoucouldgoandhowmuchitshouldcosttogetthere,you’llneedtoapplyalittlejudgmenttodeterminethechancesyou’llgodowneachroute.Youhavea10%chanceofa“high”verdictof$500,000ifaplaintiff’sverdictcomesinanditwillcost$150,000togetthere?Writeitdown.
DoaLittleMath.Ultimatelyyou’lladduptheprobability-adjustedvaluesofallthebranchesonyourdecisiontreetoachievethe
\o"'s"DecisionMakingTools:DecisionTreeAnalysisandEMV""
expectedmonetaryvalue,orEMV
,ofyourcase.Simplycalculatethevalueofeachultimateoutcome,whichisthecostofthatparticularresulttimesthechancesthatitwilloccur,andaddupallthesefigurestoarriveatafinalvalue.
Intheexampleabovewithadditionaldetailsappearingonpagetwoof
\o"ASampleDecisionTree,WithSupportingDataatPageTwo"
thislink
,its$124,000EMVisnowherenearthe$500,000numbertheplaintiffmayhavefocusedonsincehefiledthecase(shownaboveas$650,000sincetheillustrationincludesattorneys’fees),butit’smuchhigherthanthe$40,000itwilltakethedefendanttogetthroughsummaryjudgment,too.
Theabilityofdecisiontreestoobjectivelyhighlighttherealmonetaryvalueofthecase,ratherthanthenumbereachpartymayhavefocusedonpreviously,isoneofthekeyattributesofthetool,andI’llwritemoreabouthowtoleveragethatvaluehere.
AGreat—andFree—TooltoTryDecisionTreesonYourOwn
\o"DanKlein'sBioat"
DanKlein’s
article
\o"DanKlein's"DecisionTrees&TheArboretum"at"
DecisionTrees&TheArboretum
,mentionedabove,isoneofthebestpracticaldiscussionsofdecisiontreesoutthere,andhiswebsitealsohasafreetooltocomputesimpledecisiontreescalled
\o""TheArboretum"--TheDecisionTreeToolfromDanKlein"
TheArboretum
,whereyoucan“create,save,andmodifyyourownconfidentialdecisiontrees”;heevenhasanexpressoptionwhereyoucancreateasingletreewithoutalogin
\o"Single-TreeDecisionTreeToolfromDanKlein"
here
.ThedecisiontreeatthetopofthispostwascreatedusingDan’sonlinetool,andI’llbepointingtoitagainsoon.
Bytheway,thatmediatorwhointroducedmetomyfirstdecisiontreehadapoint—apointthatwouldhavebeenbetterunderstoodonmediationdayifIhadreallyknownhowtoleveragedecisiontreesinsettlementdiscussionsbeforeIgotthere.
Tryadecisiontreeinyournextcase.You’llbegladyoudid.
2Perspectives
January21,2009
WhyShouldYouTryaDecisionTreeinYourNextDispute?
Werecentlyexploredwhatdecisiontreesareandhowtocreatethemin
\o"SettlementPerspectives'"DecisionTreeAnalysis:TheBasics""
DecisionTreeAnalysis:TheBasics
.Whileit’simportanttorevisitthebasicsonoccasion,itseemsthebiggesthurdlefordecisiontreesisn’tteachingpeoplethatthistoolisoutthere—it’sconvincingmediators,lawyersandtheirclientstoactuallytrytheminthefirstplace.Whyshouldyou?
Fromtheclient’sperspectivetherearetwogoodreasonstousedecisiontrees:betterdecisionsandhappierclients.
Dowetakethecasetotrial,dowesettleit,ordowedo
\o"SettlementPerspectives'CategoryonSettlementStructures"
somethinginbetween
?Andwhatmakesyouthinkso?Clientshavealwayslookedtotheirlawyersforsettlementadvicebut,as
\o""LitigatorsGetaBadReportCard+WaystoDoBetter"onPrismLegal,RonFriedmann'sProfessionalWebSite"
RonFriedmann
remindsus,toooftenthebestanswertheirlawyerscanofferis“Trustme,I’mtheexpert.”Today’sclients—andtheiraccountantsandotherstakeholders—wantdeeperanalysisandbetterdecisions,andDecisionTreeAnalysisisagreatwaytogetthere.
DecisionTreesDriveBetterSettlementDecisions
\o""RiskAnalysisinMediation"onGeoffSharp's"MediatorBlah...Blah...""
GeoffSharp
,whoalwayshasagoodquote,tellsusthat“[g]utinstinct,sloppyguessworkandgreyhairnolongerseemtobeenoughincomplex,highstakesmediation.”Sharpandothershighlighthowcaseevaluationtodayrequiresmorediscipline,withtoolslikedecisiontrees.
DecisionTreeAnalysisrequiresmorethanexperienceandintuition—
\o""UsingDecisionTreesinMediation"ontheNewHampshireBar'sWebSite"
PaulRemus
tellsusthatadecisiontree“forcesalawyertothinkcarefullyandsystematicallyabouthiscase.”Thisdisciplinedoesn’tcomebyaccident;Montreal’s
\o"BrianDaley'sBioonOgilvyRenaultLLP'sWebSite"
BrianDaley
remindsusin
\o".pdfCopyofBrianDaley's"MakingInformedDecisions.DecisionTreeAnalysis:Aneffectivemethodtomanagelitigationinabusinesssetting""
arecentarticle
that,asclientandcounselexploreeachbranchofthetree,thediagramrequiresthemto“deconstructacomplexlawsuitintodiscretestepsandpossibleoutcomesthatcanpavethewayforappropriatedecision-making.”
Soisthereroomforgreyhairandgutinstinct?Absolutely.Bydefinition,thevalueofthedecisiontreeexercisehingesontheprofessionallegalexpertisewecametointhefirstplace—as
\o""LitigationRiskAnalysis,"a1990ArticlebyRonFriedmannandDavidPost"
RonFriedmannandDavidPost
putitalmost20yearsago:
Thekeyinputstoadecisiontree—estimatesofprobabilitiesofthekeyeventsandofthedollarvaluesoffinaloutcomes—reflecttheexperienceandjudgmentofthelawyermakingtheestimate.
AsIthinkaboutmylastdecisiontree,it’sclearthatitdroveabetterdecisionthanmyinitialtakeonthecase.Commonsensesaidmyclienthadagreedtoanewdeal,butdidwereallyhaveagreementonthatcontractamendment?Whatevidencewouldshowit?Wasthatevidenceadmissible?Withoutanagreement,whatwouldmyclient’sdamagesbe?
Aswehavediscussedbeforeina
\o"SettlementPerspectives'PostonEarlyCaseAssessment"EasierSaidThanDone:EarlyCaseAssessmentsPartI""
differentcontext
,careful,systematicconsiderationofacasebycounselisworththeinvestment,whetheryou
\o"SettlementPerspectives'PostonEarlyCaseAssessment"BetterSettlementsFromBetterInformation:EarlyCaseAssessmentsIV""
settleyourcase
or
\o"SettlementPerspectives'PostonEarlyCaseAssessment"BetterDocketManagementThroughEarlyCaseAssessments:ECAsPartV""
not
.Butbetterdecisionsaren’ttheonlyreasontousedecisiontrees.
TheClientRidealong
Astheclientinmorethanafewdisputesovertheyears,Ihaveseenatleastthreewaysdecisiontreescanmakeforhappierclients.
ClientsWantMoreInformationthanIntuition.Althoughwetalkedaboutthisperspectivemorefullyin
\o"SettlementPerspectives'Post"WhyAreWeHere?""
myfirstpost
,I’mfortunatetohavebeenbehindcloseddoorswiththepeoplewhoreallydecidewhencasessettle—CEOs,CFOs,boardmembersandmore—andIdon’tgettosay“Trustme,I’mtheexpert.”Beforetheymakethedecisiontosettle,realdecisionmakersaskthetoughquestions:Willmylettergetintoevidence?Whatwoulddrivealowverdicthere?Whatwoulditcosttopursueafraudclaim?DecisionTreeAnalysisisonewayIgettheanswerstothesequestions—beforetheyareasked.
EveryoneUnderstandsMoreAftertheClientRidealong.Thestep-by-stepwalkthroughrequiredbyadecisiontreegivestheclientinputinto,andunderstandingof,thepaththecasemaytake—whetheritsettlesornot.
\o"BioforMarjorieCormanAaronontheUniversityofCincinnatiCollegeofLawWebSite"
MarjorieCormanAaron
tellsuswhythat’simportantin
\o"APagefor"TheHandbookofDisputeResolution""
TheHandbookofDisputeResolution
:
Adecisiontreeapproachrequirescandiddiscussionbetweenlawyerandclientaboutthelikelihoodofeachbranchonthetree,eachtwistinthelitigationpath.Thatdiscussionisalwaysworthhaving.Evenifthedecisiontreeisusedfornothingmorethanaddingclarityintheconversationoftrialalternativesandtheclient’scomfortwithattendantlevelsofrisk,thetreehasaddedvalue.
Thisclientridealongusuallydrawsnewinformationfromtheclient,andtheclientoftengainsanewperspectiveonthecasethatcanchangewherethedisputeisheaded.Aplaintiffwhowantshisdayincourtbutnowtrulyunderstandsthathe’sonly60%likelytoseethatdaymaydecidetoexploresettlement,asmayadefendantwholearnsthathisinsurancecarrierisonly60%likelytopay.
DecisionTreesCanAddIntellectualLegitimacy.Soyouhavetheanswersandyoutrulyunderstandwherethecaseisgoing.Sometimeseventhat’snotquiteenough.Manyofushavedecisionmakerswhoaredrivenmorebynumbersthanrhetoric,likeinsurers,riskmanagers,andaccountants,andquantitativeanalysisisoftentheirlanguage.DecisionTreeAnalysiscanhelphere,too;
\o"BioPageforMarcB.Victoron"
MarcB.Victor
tellsusat
\o"IntroductionPageforMarcB.Victor'sLitigationRiskAnalysisWebSite"
thatdecisiontrees“demonstratetotheclientthateachcasehasbeenrigorouslyevaluated.Theydocumenttherationaleunderlyingyourrecommendations,andclearlyshowtheeffectofvaryinganyassumptions.”Idon’tknowaboutyou,butthiswouldhavehelpedconvinceafewoftheaccountantsIhaveworkedwithinthepast.
Soarebetterdecisionsandhappierclientsreasonenoughtotrydecisiontrees?Ihopeso.I’llpostmoreonhowyoumightusedecisiontreesheresoon.
Butyoudon’tneedtowaitforthatposttostartusingDecisionTreeAnalysis—just
\o"KleinMediation'sSingleDecisionTreeTool"
giveitatry
.
You’llbegladyoudid.
AdvancedDecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:AnInterviewWithMarcVictor,PartI
A.pdfversionofthisadvanceddecisiontreeisavailable
here
.
DecisionTreeAnalysisisn’tnewtolitigation,anditisn’tnewtothissiteeither—wediscussed
\o"SettlementPerspectives'"DecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:TheBasics""
thebasics
and
\o"SettlementPerspectives'"WhyShouldYouTryaDecisionTreeinYourNextDispute?""
more
afewmonthsago.
Butwhenyou’rereadyforanadvancedtakeonthesubject,wheredoyouturn?
Allroadsleadto
\o"BioforMarcB.Victor,Esq.,ontheLitigationRiskWebsite"
MarcB.Victor,Esq.
,whopioneeredtheapplicationofdecisiontreeanalysistolitigationinthe1970s.
Throughhiscompany,
\o"TheLitigationRiskWebsite"
LitigationRiskAnalysis,Inc.
,Marchastaughtdecisiontreeanalysisinthelitigationcontexttoover10,000seniorlegalprofessionals,someofwhomnodoubthadahandinthe
\o"TheAmericanCollegeofCivilTrialMediators"
AmericanCollegeofCivilTrialMediators
awardingMarctheir
\o"TheACCTM'sAwardsPage"
EducationAwardofExcellence
in2003.
Marcwaskindenoughtoguidemeabitwhenwebeganour
\o"SettlementPerspectives'SeriesonDecisionTrees"
seriesondecisiontrees
afewmonthsago,andIhavewantedtofleshoutsomeofthedetailswithhimsincethoseinitialdiscussions.
TheQ&Abelowistheresultofourrecentfollow-upinterview.
Howdidyoufirstputtogetherlitigationmanagementandthedecisiontreeconcept?
Itwastrulyfortuitous.
IwasajointJD/MBAstudentatStanfordinthemid-1970sandhadasummerjobforacompanybringinganantitrustsuitagainstIBM.
Ihappenedtohavelunchwithoneofourlawyersthesamedaythepresidenthadaskedhimif$10millionwouldbeareasonablesettlement.
Asourlawyerwalkedmethroughwhatmighthappenifwewenttotrial—“ifthejudgerulesforusonissue1,andthejurythenfindsforusonissues2and3,andthenbelievesourexpertonissues4and5,we’llwinalotofmoney;ontheotherhand,if...”—myDecisionAnalysiscourseatStanfordcametomind.
Istartedsketchingthetreethatfithisdescriptionofthetwistsandturnsthecasecouldtake.
Overthenextfewweeks,weworkedwithoutsidecounseltofinishtheevaluation,presentedthetreeandtheresultstothepresident,andthemattersettledsoonthereafter.
Whataretheprimarywayslawyersandclientsareusingdecisiontreeanalysisinlitigation?
Ibelievethereareafewways:
(i)tobesurethelawyershaveaclearerunderstandingofthekeyissues,uncertaintiesandexposurepresentedbyacase;(ii)togainsettlementauthorityfromtheclient;(iii)toconvincetheothersidetoacceptagivensettlement;(iv)topersuadeamediatororsettlementconferencejudgeoftherationaleoftheirposition;and(v)toplanacost-effectivelitigationstrategy.
Haveyouseendecisiontreesusedeffectivelyinmediation?
Ihavebeenaskedtopresentdecisiontreesasanadvocateinmediation,anditcertainlyhelpsshowthemediatorthatmyclientandIhaveareasonedbasisforoursettlementposition.Ihavealsobeenretainedbymediatorsonseveraloccasionsinlargecasestohelpthemediationprocessbygettingthepartiestoagreeontheappropriatedecisiontrees,discussarguments,andassessprobabilitiesandverdictranges.
Thesecaseshavetypicallyinvolvedhundredsofmillionsofdollars,andbywayofexampleincludethe$1.1billionclassactionsettlementoftheMicrosoftantitrustclaimsinCaliforniaafewyearsago.
Whatisthemistakelawyersandclientsmostoftenmakeastheylearntousedecisiontreesinlitigation?
Thefirstismakingjustaone-node“wewinoverall/weloseoverall”tree,andanotherisfailingtodothorough“ListsofReasons”beforecomingupwithprobabilitiesinthecase.
Let’stakeeachofthoseinturn.
What’stheissuewitha“onenode”tree?
Somepeoplelimittheirtreetoasimple“wewin/welose,”despitethefactthattheremaybemultipleunderlyingquestionsthejuryorjudgewilldealwiththatwillinfluencetheultimateoutcomeofthecase—evidentiaryrulings,alternativecausesofaction,potentialdefenses,andotheruncertainties.
Thepartiesandtheirlawyerswouldendupwithabetterevaluationoftheiroverallchancesofwinningandlosingiftheywouldmodeltheseunderlyingissuesandinfluencesinalargertreeandthenuseprobabilityarithmetictoarriveattheoverallresult.
[Editor'sNote:
MoreontheprocesscanbefoundinMarc'sarticle,"InterpretingaDecisionTreeAnalysisofaLawsuit,"availableonthe
\o"'sArticlesPage"
articlespage
at
\o"HomePagefor"
.]
Andwhatdoyoumeanwhenyousaythatsomeusersfailtogenerate“ListsofReasons”?
Toomanynoviceusersofdecisiontreesjumpimmediatelyfrombuildingthetreetofillingintheirprobabilities.
Butaprobabilitythat’sthrownontothetreewithoutfirstthinkingrigorouslyaboutwhatthejudgeorjurywillbeweighingattrialwon’tbeasgoodasonemadeafterdoingso.
The“ListofReasons”isasummaryoffactors—proandcon—thatthejudgeorjurywillconsiderindecidingwhoshouldwineachoftheuncertaintiesrepresentedonthedecisiontree.
Thismightbeinformationonhand,suchaskeydocumentsalreadyinthefile,butitmightalsoincludefactsthatcouldbeuncoveredindiscovery,aswellaswitnessstrength,sympathyoftheparties,andmore.
[Editor'sNote:
FormoreonListsofReasons,seepages12-8to12-9in"EvaluatingLegalRisksandCostswithDecisionTreeAnalysis,"whichisreprintedavailableonthe
\o"'sArticlesPage"
articlespage
at
\o"HomePagefor"
;italsoappearsintheACC's
\o"TheACC's"SuccessfulPartneringBetweenInsideandOutsideCounsel""
SuccessfulPartneringBetweenInsideandOutsideCounsel
.]
Asacaseprogresses,howoftenshouldthepartiesupdatetheirdecisiontrees?
Thedecisiontreeshouldbeupdatedwhenevertherearenewdevelopmentsthatwouldcauseasignificantchangeeithertothestructureofthetreeitself(suchaswhenanewcauseofactionisplead)ortotheprobabilities(becauseofwhat’slearnedasdiscoveryprogresses,forexample).
Inaddition,it’susuallyagoodideatoreviewandupdateyouranalysispriortomakingasettlementdecisionorpriortoamediation.
WherecanIfindagoodexampleofanadvanceddecisiontree?
Thosearealmostalwaysprivilegedandhighlyconfidential,buttheoneonpage2ofmypaper“InterpretingaDecisionTreeAnalysisofaLawsuit”isagoodstart.
[Editor'snote:
Thisarticleisavailable
\o"'sArticlesPage"
here
anda.pdfofthatanalysisisavailableonSettlementPerspectivesbyclicking
here
.]
Andwhatisthemistakepeoplemostoftenmakeastheirdecisiontreeskillsadvance?
Asusersbecomemoreadvanced,Ioftenseethemputtingmultiplecausesofactioninseparatetreeswhentheyshouldbeinonetreeor,iftheyknowtheyshouldbeinonetree,linkingthecausesofactiontogetherincorrectly.
Eitherofthesemistakeswillcausethecalculationofcasevaluetobewrong.
Ialsosometimesseethemmakingtreesmorecomplicated—moreacademic—thantheyshouldbe,forgettingthataneffectivedecisiontreeshouldmirrorthemorestreamlined,simplerapproachjuriesoftentakewhenpresentedwithcomplicatedcases.
IfIhaveaworkingknowledgeoflitigationdecisiontrees,doyouhaveanytipsonhowtoadvancemyskillset?
Ilinkto
\o"'sArticlesPage"
7articles
onmywebsite,andcontinuetooffer
\o"TheTrainingPageat"
training
byappointment.
Inaddition,Iworkasaconsultanttocounselandtheirclientsonsignificantlitigationmatters.
Isthereasoftwareproductoutthereyourecommend?
Iuse
\o"TreeAgeSoftware'sTreeAgeProProductPage"
TreeAgePro
exclusively.
Itwasco-foundedby
\o"BiosforTreeAgeSoftware'sManagementTeam"
MorrisRaker
,aBostonlawyer,afterattendingoneofmyseminarsinthe1980s,anditcanshipwithamanualIwroteforlitigators.
[Editor'sNote:
Additionalprovidersofdecisionanalysissoftwarearelistedwithinthe
\o"TheCommentstoSettlementPerspectives'"DecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:TheBasics""
comments
toour
\o"SettlementPerspectives'DecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:TheBasics"
firstpost
ondecisiontreeanalysisinlitigation.]
AdvancedDecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:AnInterviewWithMarcVictor,PartII
Foradvanceddecisionanalysisinlitigation,wheredowestart?
Lastweekwebegantotakeour
\o"SettlementPerspectives'SeriesonDecisionTrees"
seriesondecisiontrees
tothenextlevelwith
\o"SettlementPerspectives'"AdvancedDecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:AnInterviewwithMarcVictor,PartI""
PartI
ofourinterviewwithMarcVictorof
\o"HomePagefor"
LitigationRiskAnalysis,Inc.
,whopioneeredtheuseofdecisiontreesindisputeresolutionandlitigationinthe1970s.
ThispostisPartIIofthattwo-partinterview,inQ&Aformat.
Marc,peopleoftensaythatthe“inputs”onadecisiontree—theprobabilitiesofvariousoutcomes—areimprecise.
Oneofthethe
\o"TheCommentstoSettlementPerspectives'"DecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:TheBasics""
comments
toour
\o"SettlementPerspectives'DecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:TheBasics"
firstpostondecisiontrees
putitthisway:
Thetheoreticalproblemiswiththeassignmentofprobabilitiesandtheirmeaning.Unlessyouarejustgoofingaroundwithnumbers,theassignmentofaprobabilitytoaneventpresupposesthatthereisafrequencyofsimilareventstocount.Thisishardlyevertrueinlitigation,unlessrestrictedtosomethinglikeemploymentdismissalcases.Eventhen,Ihavetroubleinterpretingthenumbersasanythingmorethansubjectiveprobabilities,i.e.justgoofingaroundwithnumbers.
Isthisafaircriticism?
Idon’tthinkso.
First,it’snotaquestionofprobabilitiesbeing“precise”or“imprecise”—theideaisforthemtobe“realistic.”
Second,assignmentofaprobabilitydoesnotpresuppose“afrequencyofsimilareventstocount.”
Aprobabilityissimplyareflectionofsomeone’sopinionofthelikelihoodofsuccessinaparticularsituation.
Lawyershavealwaysgivenopinionslikethese,eveninone-of-a-kindcases—they’vesimplyusedphrases(suchas“prettygoodchance”)muchmoreoftenthanthey’veusednumbers.
Butbecauseit’sveryeasytoshowthatthephrasesaremoreambiguousthanthepercentages,andbecausecenturies-oldprobabilitytheorytellsushowtocombinea60%chanceofsuccessononeissueanda25%chanceofsuccessonanotherissuetodeterminetheoverallchanceofsuccess(butdoesn’thelpustocombinea“prettygoodchance”ononeissueanda“definitepossibility”onanother),therearetremendousadvantagesinusingthe0to100scaleratherthanthe“nochance”to“surething”scale.
Ican’thelpbutthinkthatifthepersonwhowrotetheearliercommentheardhisorherdoctorsay“I’m‘reasonablyconfident’you’llcomethroughthisprocedurewithoutanycomplications,”theywouldimmediatelyaskforclarification:
“Whatdoyoumeanby‘reasonablyconfident’?
95%?80%?65%?”
Whyshouldclientsexpectlessfromtheirattorneys?
Anythingelse?
Definitely.
Thecommentersuggeststhereissomethingwrongwithsubjectiveprobabilities—thattheyarenothingmorethan“goofingaround.”
IhaveaveryhardtimeequatingtherigorousprocessofdevelopingathoroughListofReasons(asdiscussedin
\o"SettlementPerspectives'"AdvancedDecisionTreeAnalysisinLitigation:AnInterviewwithMarcVictor,PartI""
PartI
ofthisinterview),andthenexpressinganunambiguousopinionregardingthechanceofwinningversuslosinganissue,as“goofingaround.”
Well-reasoned“subjective”probabilitiesarequitehelpful—andareexactlywhatlawyers(anddoctorsandseniorbusinessexecutivesandothers)havealwaysbeenhiredfor:
“Basedonall
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