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LITIGATION
ARTICLES
STRATEGY
By Carmen D. Caruso
Victory in a legal dispute requires sound strategic planning at the outset of the case, with the capacity to adapt as circumstances may change very quickly.
What sets us apart is our ability to strategize for victory in your case.
In every case, we:
Identify the client's objective, whether it is injunctive or equitable relief, or the recovery of damages, or the negotiation of a business solution.
Visualize the winning presentation of your case at an eventual trial.
Identify the evidence we will need to win and develop our plan to obtain that evidence in the most logical and efficient manner.
Execute our strategy by delivering the highest quality advocacy in an efficient, professional manner at all stages of the case.
From your first phone call we begin to visualize the trial of your case. Every effort is directed toward shaping the case to persuade the judge, jury or arbitrator. Only experienced trial lawyers can exercise this judgment. Non-trial lawyers, or “litigators” who never seem to actually try a case, lack the experience needed to break a case open and deliver results.
-- To negotiate first, or to sue immediately?
-- What claims should be alleged, or not alleged?
-- Which documents should be requested or subpoenaed?
-- Which witnesses should be deposed, or not deposed, and in what the order should the witnesses be called testify?
-- Should a plaintiff cross-examine the defendant as part of the plaintiff's case, or wait for the defendant to testify after the motion for directed verdict has been decided?
From the outset of your case through the trial, these are critical questions that will determine your eventual success. We make these decisions with you, and we will get it right the first time.
Yet another critical
strategic area is the proper use of expert opinion witnesses -- a topic that has received increasing scrutiny from the United States Supreme Court, and which Carmen D. Caruso has recently been called upon to address by the American Bar Association.
In the trial itself, every event -- and especially cross-examinations -- must be carefully planned, with special consideration for cross-examining your opponent's expert.
Statistics reveal that over 90% of civil cases eventually settle before trial. But that means that nearly 10% of civil cases go to trial. If your cases is bound for trial, your lawyer must be ready. For the 90% who may settle, you obviously want the best settlement, and that means having experienced trial lawyers who are ready to win – and to make sure that the other side knows it.
We put our strategy to the test in "Trapping The Defendants", a case study of a recent legal
malpractice case that Mr. Caruso brought against one of Chicago's leading intellectual property law firms.
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