Your BATNA, your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement, might seem simple to calculate in some circumstances, especially in a dispute over an amount of money. You could estimate the maximum amount that you might recover in a lawsuit or the minimum that you might be required to pay. You could then try to determine the likelihood of that result. A guarantee, of course, would be difficult to obtain. You might also find that even these estimates are difficult to make.
Additionally, you would want to consider how much you might pay out-of-pocket in litigation-related expenses. This estimate, too, may be difficult to determine, because unforeseen events could require legal services and costs greater than originally expected.
Nonetheless, a rough idea of your BATNA gives you a yardstick for evaluating a possible resolution reached by the parties themselves.
Next time: costs that are even more challenging to measure but may have great impact.
