An Apology to Skip the Courtroom

'My mistake, I'm sorry" may be all it takes to lower the number of
lawsuits in our legal system. Research from the University of
Missouri-Columbia found that a full apology can avert lawsuits; promoting
the more amicable and less costly use of settlements to resolve legal
conflict.

"The conventional wisdom has been: Don't apologize," says Jennifer
Robbennolt, study author and professor of law at Missouri. By the time a
case reaches the courtroom, forgiveness may be taken as an admission of
guilt. "Maybe we ought to rethink that," she argues.

Robbennolt asked 145 volunteers what they would do in a theoretical
situation where they were injured by a cyclist. When given a full
apology, 73 percent chose the settlement offer. A partial apology, an
expression of sympathy while accepting no responsibility of guilt, led to
52 percent settling. Without any apology, 35 percent chose a settlement
over a trail.

"It changes the recipient's perception about the other person,"
explains Robbennolt "With a full apology, people were more likely to
think that the wrongdoer would be more careful in the future and would
have more regret."

Robbennolt plans to do follow-up research to see if apologies could
work at a corporate level. The study is to be published in the December
issue of the
Michigan Law Review.