How can litigation support services bridge knowledge gaps and strengthen case strategy?
Litigation support services can mean the difference between winning and losing your next legal battle. But do you truly understand how they can help you? Let’s break it down for you to give you a clear picture of how these support services help during this crucial time.
Support for Complex Legal Proceedings
Generally, litigation support services are designed to help law firms or in-house general counsel with unusually complex and difficult legal proceedings. This could mean adding expertise in esoteric case law, or just hiring a few extra sets of competent hands to help with trial prep.
To help you understand when and how you might benefit from services like these, we’ve compiled a list of four common ways your case could benefit from expert legal support:
- You have a LOT of witnesses. In cases involving hundreds of eyewitnesses (class action lawsuits are the most common form), there are likely more witnesses than any single law firm could ever handle in a reasonable amount of time. Because you need to depose all witnesses before the trial begins, hiring additional attorneys and administrative staff to assist with depositions, information collection and organization is a necessity. If you don’t, you might be unpleasantly surprised by testimony or other information you weren’t aware of prior to trial.
- Your court date is fast approaching. Sometimes the court schedules a trial date that leaves attorneys very little time to properly prepare. As a result, hiring additional attorneys and paralegals to analyze information and create a solid legal strategy prior to the start of proceedings can stave off early case dismissals, or even defeat.
- Your case involves interpretation of complex data or information other than the law. Think about cases involving complex scientific processes, or proprietary specialties falling outside the strict letter of the law. If your case hinges on understanding and interpreting complex results and information, you’re going to need a team of experts to break it down to basics. They can help present the information in an easy to understand fashion to both your primary legal team, and the rest of the courtroom.
- There’s a lot of money at stake. Whether in the form of actual damages, or impacts to stock price, if the stakes are high enough, you’ll always benefit from having more expertise in the room. From assistance with examination of evidence, to establishing past precedent and mitigating legal contingencies, attorneys often benefit from having another team of special legal experts to leverage during both prep and court proceedings.
Final Thoughts on Litigation Support
Litigation support services are designed to help companies and other law firms close any bandwidth and/or knowledge gaps prior to trial, and also to provide ongoing support as the trial progresses. If your case has any of the four hallmarks listed above, you’re likely in need of competent and experienced support.
Don’t take a chance on the outcome; click here to learn more about litigation support services by contacting the Wilbanks Law Firm, P.C. online.