A friend of mine gave us the board game “Sorry.” It’s not a complicated game. You need to get your four players from point A to point B. To move your pieces you pick cards and follow its directions. One of those cards is the “Sorry” card. If you pick the card you get to move one of the other player’s pieces back to the start. It makes for a long game.
The “Sorry” card is much different than saying sorry for forgiveness. The “Sorry” card in the game doesn’t go far to make you feel better as you move your piece back to the start. Saying sorry for forgiveness goes a long way.
I was involved in one case where the client’s employees had trashed some property the company had rented. We could have used all the Rules of Civil Procedure to prolong the case and force the settlement down. Instead my client and I called a meeting with the wronged party. My client said sorry and offered to pay a fair amount to make him whole. We presented the calculation, negotiated it a bit, then came to an agreement. Within a week my client paid the check and both parties parted ways.
It’s experiences like this that make me agree with Victoria Pynchon at negotiationlawblog.com who says:
I firmly believe (and I believe the research will support me in this) that apology is far more likely to avoid litigation than it is to trigger it. In any event, living an authentic, robust life in community requires this. It is a small act of courage.
These small acts of courage go a long way.
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Andrew, welcome to the blogosphere! I just read about “Legal Frontier” on my friend Vickie Pynchon’s blog and am delighted for the introduction to what promises to be a stimulating addition to the conversation here on the web. I’m looking forward to reading more.
Best of luck!
Diane