Page 2 - 2015_0908Litigation

S2 | Tuesday, sepTember 8, 2015 | Litigation
| nylj.com

By SuSan T. Dwyer
anD ronalD J. levine
L
itigation attorneys currently work
within a conflict resolution system
that is a losing situation for everyone
involved—from claimants to defendants to
attorneys (on both sides of the dispute).
everyone knows the drill: a lawsuit is filed

by an attorney for a claimant; the defendant
responds by hiring an attorney who prepares
a pre-answer motion or files a formal answer
to the complaint; issue is joined and the battle
lines are drawn; an expensive and disruptive
discovery phase ensues (that can typically
last for years), motions are filed and argu-
ments presented; a trial is scheduled, with
costly advance preparations; on the eve of

What’s the Point?
jury selection, serious negotiations ensue
and the case is settled, often for an amount
the defendant would have paid much ear-
lier, or in excess of the amount which would
The Future have resolved the case much earlier, had the
facts been efficiently collected and the matter
treated as a business transaction rather than
a heavyweight title bout. this is the prevailing

Of Litigation
pattern in the vast majority of all cases filed
in this state and nationwide.

the High cost of Litigation

when the settlement agreement is final-
ly reached, company counsel is, at best,
resigned, and at worst, angry and disap-
pointed. outside counsel feel they did the

Early case assessment gains traction.
best job possible to hold off the inevitable.
plaintiff and his or her counsel feel they
were beaten down, forced to wait years and
fight goliaths to get what was “due” them
and that they are justified in concluding
that corporations are evil and greedy and
will do anything money can buy to avoid
taking responsibility for their actions.

Corporate counsel has less respect for, and
trust in, their outside counsel and must explain
to management how it could have cost so much
money for the privilege of ultimately settling a
case and why a reliable prediction of the result
could not have been done sooner. their out-

k
SuSan T. Dwyer and ronalD J. levine are litiga- toC
tion partners at Herrick, Feinstein. Marc B. vicTor gs
of Litigation Risk Analysis assisted in the preparation BI
of this article.

Inside
Litigation

S
S4
reverse payments, ‘Actavis’ S6 solving the S8 class Action trends
S
And settlement of insurance Allocation in the wake of ‘wal-Mart’
Hatch-waxman disputes
dilemma
And ‘comcast’
kris Fischer, Editor-In-Chief

by sTephen J. ellioTT
by mark J. bunim
by miTchell c. shapiro
angela Turturro, Sections Editor
monika kozak, Design
S

S

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