All settlements require claims professionals and retained counsel to make an offer, many times multiple offers. A well-thought-out and constructed offer could cut down on additional litigation expenses if it brings the parties to a meaningful settlement discussion.

On the other hand, an offer without consideration for certain factors could throw the whole case. Thus, there is truly an art to making the perfect offer. Below I outline a few of the who, what, when, and hows of making strong, well-crafted offers.

So what is an ‘offer’ exactly? In legal terms, an offer can be defined as a manifestation of willingness to enter into a bargain, so made as to justify another person in understanding that his assent to that bargain is invited and will conclude it, as per Restatement Second of Contracts § 24.