It is an all too common scenario – a patent infringement complaint has been filed and the parties agree to resolve the dispute prior to service of the complaint. Yet they are unable to reach an agreement and the lawsuit moves forward. The next off-ramp settlement on the litigation highway is often thought to be mediation or arbitration. However, these processes are typically not pursued until later in the litigation, after claim construction has occurred and discovery is well underway. All this time the fee meter keeps running. Indeed, a substantial number of cases make it all the way to the proverbial ‘courthouse steps’ before settling.