Colorado Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

A December study by the legal consultancy firm of Altman Weil showed that the recession notwithstanding, some large law firms are raising their fees to corporations by an average of four per cent in 2010. It is unknown whether or not Colorado law firms were included in the study.

The hourly rate charged by senior partners in these large firms has gone as high as $700-$900 per hour. A local survey by Boston-based BTI Consulting in October disclosed that 15% of Boston’s law firms are raising their rates for 2010, while the remainder is keeping their fees the same as last year.

As I have written before, a corporation that is cost- conscious and result- oriented should look at the advantages of hiring a plaintiff’s firm that charges on a contingent fee basis, whereby legal fees are based upon a percentage of the amount recovered in a lawsuit. If the lawsuit is lost, the lawyer receives no fee. Of course, this type of fee arrangement is normally confined to instances where the corporation is suing another person or legal entity for monetary damages. If the corporation is the defendant in the case (the one being sued), contingent fees are usually not appropriate, although some plaintiff’s firms will fashion a fee agreement whereby the lawyer is paid based upon results in the case.

A corporation or other entity that is considering filing a suit for money damages should feel free to contact this firm for additional information on the various types of legal fee agreements available.

Related postings:

Why You Need a Contingent Fee Lawyer for Your Colorado Business Litigation

Why You Need a Contingent Fee Lawyer for your Colorado Business Litigation, Part II

In addition to hiring a lawyer experienced in the courtroom (see previous post), there are other reasons a contingent fee lawyer can help assure a successful outcome of your Colorado business litigation.

Reason #3: You need a lawyer with special skills. The special skills of an injury lawyer will increase the likelihood of recovery of large sums of money for his/her corporate client:

The injury lawyer is trained to “humanize” or “personalize” his injured client. These same skills are transferrable to the “injured” corporation. Each has suffered a wrong at the hand of the defendant and each must be given full compensation. A jury is more likely to do so if the corporation has been “personalized”.

The injury lawyer is trained to simplify the case for ordinary jurors. He/she develops “themes” to make the case understandable. Some themes I have used over the years in commercial cases include telling the jury a contract is kind of like a “legal handshake”. Handshakes should be honored even where sophisticated corporate representatives of the defendant think they have found “loopholes”. The jurors know they deal with their neighbors fairly and do not look for loopholes. They honor their word.

The injury lawyer has conducted hundreds of focus groups without the help of a trial consultant. This represents a tremendous savings in litigation expenses. More importantly, it assures that good trial presentations are being developed from the very beginning.

The injury lawyer is skilled in the art of cross-examination of technical experts. He/she has cross-examined brain surgeons, automotive design experts, accountants and the like. Technical background is not nearly as important as the ability to “take command” of the courtroom during cross-examination.

The injury lawyer has selected hundreds of juries. He/she knows how to engage strangers in comfortable conversation. The injury lawyer can react quickly to “curveball” responses by jurors and can use these responses to the client’s advantage.

Reason #4: You need a lawyer who will maximize damages. The injury lawyer has spent a professional lifetime assuring that full and fair damages are recovered for injured clients. The same techniques can be effectively used for an “injured” corporation. A client will not be satisfied to simply “win” its lawsuit if it can’t recover what it truly lost. Techniques for maximizing damages to injured corporations begin during jury selection and carry all the way through to closing argument. If the trial story is dynamic, appealing and fits the jurors’ concepts of right and wrong, they will be generous in their award of damages to an injured corporation.

Continue reading "Why You Need a Contingent Fee Lawyer for your Colorado Business Litigation, Part II" »