Opening Demand vs. Opening Offer
The initial monetary position each side states at the start of settlement bargaining: the plaintiff's opening demand and the defendant's opening offer.
The opening demand is the plaintiff's first stated settlement number, typically set above the plaintiff's actual reservation price to leave room to negotiate down. The opening offer is the defendant's mirror-image first number, typically set below its actual reservation price to leave room to move up.
The gap between the two anchors the entire negotiation that follows. Research on anchoring effects suggests the first credible number stated often has an outsized influence on where the negotiation ultimately settles, which is why extreme anchors can backfire by signaling bad faith or unfamiliarity with the case.
Juricratic represents the opening demand and opening offer as the two initial endpoints on the settlement-range dial for a negotiation branch. The simulation can sweep how far apart those anchors can be before the modeled zone of possible agreement collapses to nothing.
How it actually shows up
Counsel calibrate an opening demand or offer against the client's actual reservation price, the strength of the case, and the credibility cost of appearing to negotiate in bad faith, since an anchor perceived as unreasonable can stall the entire negotiation rather than accelerate it.
- Should a plaintiff always open high?
- Not necessarily. An anchor far outside a credible range can damage the plaintiff's credibility and slow rather than speed a negotiation.
- Does the opening demand set a ceiling for later demands?
- Not legally, but practically it is hard to demand more than the original opening demand without a strong justification like new evidence.
- Is the opening offer discoverable or admissible at trial?
- No. Settlement offers, including opening positions, are generally inadmissible to prove liability or damages under evidentiary settlement-communication rules.
This page is an educational explainer, not legal advice, and creates no attorney–client relationship. Juricratic is a simulation engine: every probability-like figure is a dial you set, not a calibrated prediction. Verify every rule, deadline, and figure against the authorities and orders that govern your matter.
Turn the concept into a modeled matter.
Juricratic makes every one of these ideas a live dial: model your case as a solvable game, then watch the optimal line and the settlement window move as the assumptions do.
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