People generally grasp the basic concept of settlement, recognizing it as an agreement between parties to resolve a dispute without the need for a trial, but some confusion exists regarding the settlement process. Professors Jennifer Robbennolt and Verity Winship, along with Jessica Bregant '09, have made examining settlements one of the hallmarks of their scholarship, and their work was highlighted in The Civilian, an online journal out of Stanford that makes research accessible to lay audiences. The Robbennolt-Winship study surveyed more than 1,000 individuals to learn more about people's perceptions of fault and responsibility in settled cases, revealing that about half of the respondents believe settlement implies some admission of responsibility, emphasizing the impact of public perception on individuals' confidence in the legal system.
Read the full article at The Civilian.