Newswise — Litigation and risk is the topic of the Georgia State University College of Law’s Law Review Symposium on “Risky Business: The Art of Reducing Litigation Uncertainty and Settling Cases,” from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 27, at The Carter Center.

The symposium features nationally known attorney and alternative dispute resolution expert Kenneth Feinberg, founder and managing partner of Feinberg Rozen LLC. His involvement includes several high-profile settlements, such as the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund and the GM Ignition Switch Compensation Fund.

Symposium organizers Allison Averbuch (J.D. ’15) and Wayne Satterfield (J.D. ’15) have included Georgia State Law alumni, such as Linda DiSantis (J.D. ’88) and Barbara Marshalk (J.D. ’98), and other legal experts from Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, Hall Booth Smith, Troutman Sanders and Drew Eckl & Farnham, on the three panels.

“Kenneth Feinberg will kick off the symposium by discussing his personal experience as one of the nation’s leaders in mediation and alternative dispute resolution,” Averbuch said. “He has a wealth of knowledge from which he can draw.”

From Georgia State Law, Shelby Grubbs, executive director of the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation, and Jessica Gabel, associate professor of law, will participate. Professor Doug Yarn, director of the Consortium on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, was faculty adviser.

Panelists will discuss litigation risk and examine the different ways in which risk is assessed and how different tactics affect settlement negotiations. Participants can obtain 5.5 continuing legal education credits.

“One of the realities of litigating in the 21st century is that the vast majority of cases settle before reaching trial,” Satterfield said.

“Attorneys must be able to make value judgments and provide clients with an in-depth analysis of their chances of success to make decisions about how to reach a resolution,” Averbuch said.