What a good settlement looks like, six months later.
We followed up on a year of concluded matters. The findings on what predicts a durable agreement are clearer than the literature suggests.
We reviewed a year of settled matters at the six-month mark. The predictors of durability were simpler than expected: agreements drafted in the parties' own language outlived agreements drafted in legal English, even when the underlying terms were identical.
Agreements that included a scheduled six-month check-in had a markedly lower rate of follow-on dispute than agreements that closed and disappeared. The check-in itself rarely produced changes; its function was to confirm the agreement was working.
Settlements with named, individual signatories on both sides outperformed settlements signed by representatives. The signature is not merely a formality. It is the moment the agreement becomes real.