Business litigation attorneys should tailor their approach to each case based on its specific set of facts and client’s wishes.
Not all cases are equal, and business litigation attorneys understand this. They know that a variety of factors can make significant differences in what a case’s result can be. The specific facts of the case will decide which approach an attorney uses.
How Much Is at Issue
Litigation is expensive, so unless the client is litigating for a moral victory, the attorney must choose a strategy that makes financial sense. For example, if there is a contract dispute over $10,000 and the business litigation attorney bills by the hour (which is very likely), it will not make sense for the attorney to spend hundreds of hours on the case and hire a variety of special witnesses that will cost thousands of dollars. The attorney will need to develop a legal strategy that provides the best chance of winning but stays within the client’s budget.
The Facts of the Case
Obviously, the better the facts are, the better the chances of success. But success depends on several things. With very favorable facts, an early settlement for a fairly high amount may be realistic. This might be the approach the business litigation attorney recommends to avoid the risk of possibly losing at trial (despite how unlikely this may be) and obtaining a recovery for the client sooner rather than later. But with less favorable facts, an early settlement isn’t as likely, and the attorney will need to approach the case as if a trial is very possible.
What the Client’s Goals Are
The client’s goals are the single most important factor in deciding how a business litigation attorney will approach a case. Not only is the attorney ethically obligated by the professional rules of conduct to follow the client’s direction, but this approach logically overrides most other considerations.
For instance, if the client is suing based on principle, they may not care that winning the case may require them to lose more money in litigation costs than they can recover from winning the lawsuit. Additionally, if the client wants to litigate based on principle, they’re more likely going to want to take a “scorched earth” litigation strategy. As long as it is within the rules of professional conduct, the attorney is ethically obligated to follow the client’s wishes, even if it ultimately hurts the chances of winning the case. Of course, the business litigation attorney must advise the client that this course of action isn’t the best idea.
Or maybe the client is in need of money as soon as possible to pay business expenses, make payroll or meet other financial obligations. In this scenario, they will agree to settle or end the case as quickly as possible as long as they’re able to recover a certain amount of money. Even if going to trial can potentially bring a much higher amount of recovery for the client and is the course of action the business litigation attorney recommends, due to time considerations that may not be what the client wants to do.
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