Litigation essentially arises when two parties cannot reach a common resolution on the grievance at hand. It is a process that involves legal action and can have far-reaching consequences for parties.
While it may be a burden to your business or organization, there are several strategies that you can employ to effectively reduce the burden and have successful litigation. From hiring an experienced and qualified lawyer to effectively planning a budget for the process, here are some effective strategies to help you have successful litigation.
1. Consult and Hire a Qualified Counsel
To have successful litigation, you need to ensure that you hire a qualified lawyer who is experienced in the type of case you have. A lawyer who has been in the field for some time and gathered experience clearly understands what is required to win a case and will most often want the best for their client.
Since an experienced lawyer has appeared in court on numerous occasions representing other clients, they will enjoy the benefit of being highly regarded by the judges and get a fair hearing for the cases they represent. Supposing the lawyer has a good reputation in the legal field, they are most likely to influence a favourable settlement.
2. Develop a Litigation Plan
A plan is vital for ensuring you have successful litigation and that all involved parties work toward attaining a common goal. It is critical to have a guideline on the processes involved and assign each task involved in the litigation process a specific timeline. While assigning the timelines in preparation for litigation, you should consider that the actions required and timelines may change based on the plaintiff’s management and the court’s decisions.
Ensure to review the strategy based on the most recent activities to ensure that the actions and overall strategy are consistently in sync. Effective planning is the key distinguishing factor between a long, costly litigation process and a quick case that emerges victorious. Conduct a preliminary assessment of the case, which will help you answer important goal-oriented questions.
Give conclusive answers on the internal resources available for the case, the need to hire external counsel, the probability of winning the case, and whether or not the cost-benefit analysis favours an out-of-court settlement.
Funding the litigation process is a major consideration that should not be second-guessed as the process may be cash-intensive, especially if it ends up going to trial. Ensure there is enough funding for the entire process and that your organization can effectively finance it without affecting the normal business operations.
3. Conduct a Comprehensive Brief and Set an Elaborate Communication Protocol
An effective communication channel and protocol will help in the execution of the litigation plan. Ensure that the protocol clearly outlines the parties involved, the time frames set and the mode of communication, and the information required in the communication.
The only way the entire litigation team will work towards a common goal is if there is an elaborate communication strategy. Receiving information on time will help the parties not fall behind schedule, acquire the necessary documents, court briefings, and submission, and file any required court documents related to the litigation.
4. Make Use of Technology
Ensure that you have systems in place to handle the required documents during the litigation process. Embracing digital technology is the best way to save time and resources and ensure no documentation is lost or misplaced.
Contract management and litigation management software can help conduct a legal case search, optimize your data storage strategy, and keep track of all classified documents during the process.
5. Prepare for the Trial
If your business has never been involved in litigation, it is wise to prepare for any in-eventuality that may put your organization in this process. Several cases are settled before they go to trial, and it is important to bear in mind that there may be a possibility of the case going to trial.
Therefore, it is important to prepare for this through your attorneys, who will be instrumental in getting a favourable outcome. The costs of the case will rise significantly if the case goes to trial since the cost of the attorney and the cost of securely storing the evidence, taking charge of the facts, caring for the witnesses, and preparing them for cross-examination through practice will need to be covered.
Conclusion
The best way to tackle a litigation process is to ensure that it does not go to trial and that if it does, your chances of winning should be higher. It is important to be proactive to effectively manage the litigation process and cut time and costs. Consider the above strategies if you want a successful litigation process.
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