Litigation and trials may be characterized as complex because typically it will involve several of the following issues:
- A very large numbers of potential deponents and witnesses;
- Issues involving complex calculations and massive documents to be produced by or to the client;
- Complexity and interrelationship of multiple issues involving large quantities of data;
- Extreme time pressures imposed by the client's needs, unreasonable opponents or judges;
- The need to present, defend or cross-examine expert witnesses in highly technical or otherwise complex subjects; and
- The need to use sophisticated graphics and technologically and sophisticated courtroom persuasion techniques.
Excellence in complex litigation and trials involve a number of skills and virtues which include intellect, experience, diligence, thinking outside the box, aggressive pursuit of a client's objectives, experience and understanding of the art of persuasion before different forums. When the litigation involved can be characterized as complex all of these skills, virtues and more remain important, but complex litigation typically requires these additional skills and experience that many attorneys, even highly competent commercial litigators, simply do not possess.
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Spooner Law, LLC has faced all of the above situations and combinations
of them through over twenty years of experience. Jack B. Spooner's
over two decades of litigation experience in complex litigation in
federal and state courts and in administrative trial type adjudicative
proceedings is the reason why. In the event it becomes necessary,
Spooner Law, LLC is able to assemble teams tailored to the particular
elements of complexity, to utilize the skills of these lawyers in
conjunction with the latest technology to achieve efficiency, and
ultimately the most important factor - to deliver results in the
courtroom, before juries or judges.
These
talents are combined with understanding the need for cost-consciousness
and efficiency. Complex litigation is expensive, but the costs can be
controlled through litigation management skills, risk-assessment
techniques and alternative dispute resolution techniques suitable to
the particular situation. Every situation is different, and Spooner
Law, LLC is always sensitive regarding weighing the outcome to the
cost, when to spend a dollar to save a penny or when to tacitly close
out the litigation and move on.
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Some of the advantages that Spooner Law, LLC brings to complex litigation are as follows:
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Trial Presentation Techniques
The
typical complex litigation matter today extends the complexity of
pretrial discovery and trial preparation into the courtroom. We face
today a generation of jurors who are accustomed to acquiring
information through television and other visual systems, and who may
not be adept at handling conventional document materials. This
situation requires trial lawyers to recognize and adapt to current
reality. Courtroom technology has advanced at a rapid pace in the last
few years. Unfortunately, many experienced trial lawyers are computer-
and technology-phobic, and fail to understand and take advantage of the
revolution that is taking place in courtroom persuasion techniques.
Steptoe lawyers understand the new technology, and how it can be
employed to advance their clients' interests, while at the same time
understanding that "high-tech" is not the right answer in every trial
situation. We are experienced in using systems that quickly call up
pertinent documents on large monitors for court and jury, and that
permit such documents to be annotated right before the trier of fact in
a way that drives home key points. We are experienced in using the
videotape deposition, transferred to CD-ROM for immediate, random
access, as an effective tool for presenting the testimony of witnesses
who cannot be brought to court and impeaching those who have come to
court.
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Case Management and Budgeting Techniques
Litigation
is expensive. Complex litigation can be particularly so. But overall
costs can be controlled by using case management and budgeting
techniques and by closely coordinating outside litigation counsel and
inside corporate counsel. What is at stake for the company often
drives the approach to cost management. On bet-the-company cases,
litigation counsel may be asked to follow the leave-no-stone-unturned
approach to the case, but even in such situations, case budgeting and
planning impose an important discipline on all involved. Where the
company's viability and survival are not at stake, reasonable
approaches to risk assessment should be employed. How much is risk
increased by taking only 10 depositions rather than 40? How much is
risk reduced by the depose-until-they-drop approach, rather than less
expensive targeted depositions that go after core information?
Legal
research, too, can be expensive. We do not believe in throwing
associates into the library to research every possible issue. First,
our collective experience is such that on many issues little research
is required, because we have been there, done that. Surgically
targeted research to fill in gaps or focus on cases in a particular
forum, rather than writing legal tomes, can do much to reduce costs.
We also draw upon our prior work product, which often can be updated at
modest cost compared to a research project that starts from scratch.
Assessing the right approach must be a collaborative effort of our team
and the client's internal team. We recognize that, after all, it's the
client's business and the client's money that are at stake.
Use of Sophisticated Expert Witnesses
Success
in many complex cases depends upon the ability to identify those issues
that require expert witnesses, identify the potential experts, evaluate
them, and recommend the ultimate selection to our client. The lawyers
at Steptoe understand how to manage the expert selection process on
behalf of clients, and how to work with such experts to obtain the best
possible presentation in support of the client's case.
Analysis of Masses of Data and Use of Complex Computer Programs
Some
cases involve more than masses of documents: masses of data, such as
where there are many claimants or damage issues involving long time
periods and multiple variables. The failure to understand and master
the pertinent data can seriously damage a client's interests. Early
and complete mastery of the data to assess exposure or potential
recovery can drive choices regarding settlement vs. continued
litigation. In the most complex cases of this kind, it may be
important to identify consultants who can create the necessary computer
models, enter the necessary data, and quickly and inexpensively produce
analyses based on various assumptions. Such consultants may be
accounting firms, economic consultants, or other types of experts in
managing complex calculations. Steptoe lawyers have confronted many
situations involving the management and mastery of data in such
situations, and are accustomed to guiding the selection of appropriate
consultants or working with the client's in-house personnel to locate,
organize, and present persuasive evidence drawn from complex data
sources.
Class Action Cases
While
not every class action qualifies as a complex matter, many do. The
potential liability in possible class situations demands aggressive
management on the part of defense counsel. Attacks on the effort of
plaintiffs to achieve class certification involve a set of special
skills and the understanding of the issues presented, such as
typicality and numerosity. Steptoe lawyers have dealt with class
action defenses in many cases in numerous areas of the law, including
securities, employment, and product liability.
Building the Litigation Team
Steptoe
employs the concept of the "tailored team" for complex litigation.
That means that those responsible for the client representation will
analyze the particular case to determine which kinds of complexity
issues are involved, and present to the client a recommended team whose
skills and experience best fit the needs of the client. We believe
that the most economical approach in most situations involves the use
of experienced lawyers who have been there before. Appropriate use of
technology offers the opportunity to avoid the expensive
cast-of-thousands approach to staffing complex cases.
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