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As a firm whose lawyers have extensive trial experience, we know firsthand how expensive litigation can be in both time and money. Even the best cases can take years and a significant amount of money to reach trial. For a wide range of reasons, resolving business disputes without litigation can prove to be immensely valuable. Some of those reasons include: faster resolution, saving money, being less emotionally taxing, and having a less difficult landscape to maneuver for resolution just to name a few. For these reasons, ELS is here to introduce a direct, yet pragmatic approach to resolve your legal issues without engaging in costly litigation. Here’s a framework of what you can expect if you pursue litigation:

The Lengthy
Litigation Process

  • Assessing Your Case

    Prior to pursuing legal action, clients and their attorneys conduct a thorough assessment of their case. This involves meticulously gathering evidence and determining the specific claims you intend to pursue.

    Information Gathering

    Both parties engage in the discovery phase, utilizing methods such as depositions, document requests, and interrogations to collect pertinent information to support their respective cases. This is the most lengthy and one of the costliest parts of litigation–often taking more than 1.5 years and costing tens of thousands of dollars.

    Challenges in Discovery

    Disputes may arise during the discovery phase, with one party contesting the inclusion of certain information, leading to additionallegal proceedings and delays.

    Pre-trial Motions

    Just before trial begins, additional motions are filed to address legal issues or disputes, further complicating the litigation process and further increasing costs.

    Trial Proceedings

    The culmination of preparatory efforts manifests in the trial itself, where comprehensive presentations, witness testimonies, evidence presentations, and closing arguments are presented before a judge or jury.

    Appellate Proceedings

    Dissatisfied parties typically opt to pursue appeals in instances where they perceive errors in the legal process, entailing further time and financial investment. This is a new process with a different legal team that further drives costs.

  • Initiating the Lawsuit

    The formal commencement of legal proceedings starts with filing a complaint with the court, a process that costs hundreds of dollars.

    Navigating Legal Procedures

    Litigation often involves addressing procedural matters such as motions and hearings to clarify legal points or resolve disputes prior to trial commencement. Between the filing fees, court appearances, and attorney fees these procedures also cost thousands of dollars.

    Utilizing Expert Testimony

    In even the simplest cases, attorneys hire expert witnesses to provide specialized testimony. Expert witnesses often have retainers in the tens of thousands of dollars that quickly climb when cases proceed to trial.

    Trial Preparation

    As the trial date approaches, meticulous preparations are undertaken to organize evidence, witnesses, and legal arguments, necessitating substantial time and resource allocation.

    Post-Trial Motions

    Following trial proceedings, either party may file additional motions challenging the verdict or seeking alternative forms of relief, thereby prolonging the legal process.

  • Assessing Your Case

    Prior to pursuing legal action, clients and their attorneys conduct a thorough assessment of their case. This involves meticulously gathering evidence and determining the specific claims you intend to pursue.

    Initiating the Lawsuit

    The formal commencement of legal proceedings starts with filing a complaint with the court, a process that costs hundreds of dollars.

    Information Gathering

    Both parties engage in the discovery phase, utilizing methods such as depositions, document requests, and interrogations to collect pertinent information to support their respective cases. This is the most lengthy and one of the costliest parts of litigation–often taking more than 1.5 years and costing tens of thousands of dollars.

    Navigating Legal Procedures

    Litigation often involves addressing procedural matters such as motions and hearings to clarify legal points or resolve disputes prior to trial commencement. Between the filing fees, court appearances, and attorney fees these procedures also cost thousands of dollars.

    Challenges in Discovery

    Disputes may arise during the discovery phase, with one party contesting the inclusion of certain information, leading to additionallegal proceedings and delays.

    Utilizing Expert Testimony

    In even the simplest cases, attorneys hire expert witnesses to provide specialized testimony. Expert witnesses often have retainers in the tens of thousands of dollars that quickly climb when cases proceed to trial.

    Pre-trial Motions

    Just before trial begins, additional motions are filed to address legal issues or disputes, further complicating the litigation process and further increasing costs.

    Trial Preparation

    As the trial date approaches, meticulous preparations are undertaken to organize evidence, witnesses, and legal arguments, necessitating substantial time and resource allocation.

    Trial Proceedings

    The culmination of preparatory efforts manifests in the trial itself, where comprehensive presentations, witness testimonies, evidence presentations, and closing arguments are presented before a judge or jury.

    Post-Trial Motions

    Following trial proceedings, either party may file additional motions challenging the verdict or seeking alternative forms of relief, thereby prolonging the legal process.

    Appellate Proceedings

    Dissatisfied parties typically opt to pursue appeals in instances where they perceive errors in the legal process, entailing further time and financial investment. This is a new process with a different legal team that further drives costs.

GET LEGAL ADVICE

WHERE WE COME IN 

Here at ELS, we have been battle-tested through litigation of all types. From complex civil litigation to criminal prosecution, we know what it takes to succeed in litigation and at trial. But, litigation is not for everybody. Our experience has shown us firsthand that through effective and consistent communication, many problems can be resolved without the need for costly litigation. To accomplish this, ELS is at your disposal to find pragmatic legal solutions to resolve whatever issues affect you and your business. Our clients can expect a thorough analysis of their potential case, thorough communication, and a well-reasoned approach to resolving their problem as efficiently as possible. Below are some examples of our measured approach to pre-litigation dispute resolution:

Our Approach:

Case Evaluation

Every matter ELS works on begins with a thorough case evaluation. Our evaluation helps frame the issues our clients are faced with and informs the realm of possibilities and outcomes our clients can expect. Our detailed evaluation process involves:

  • Fact Review: Analysis of all pertinent facts related to the case.
  • Legal Analysis: Thorough assessment of the legal issues and potential outcomes.
  • Strengths and Weaknesses Assessment: Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the case to inform strategic planning and client expectations.

After our case evaluation, we offer our clients strategic advice regarding potential outcomes to help shape realistic expectations. In light of this initial advice, our clients inform us of what success looks like to them given the range of possibilities. We then work hand in hand with our clients to achieve their desired outcome.

Negotiation

When our clients’ issues involve third-parties, ELS is able to step in to resolve these disputes on their behalf. ELS’ approach is to firmly, yet practically find common ground to try and resolve our clients’ issues. Through our past success with this approach, we have found that negotiation is a fundamental component of dispute resolution. After our initial case evaluation, we work on our clients’ behalf to reach amicable agreements that resolve their disputes in a way that serves their interests. Where appropriate, we excel in utilizing both:

  • Formal Negotiation: Engaging in negotiations to achieve results that require structure.
  • Informal Negotiation: Utilizing informal methods to facilitate resolution and maintain positive relationships.

Oftentimes, our clients’ disputes are resolved through our effective and thorough negotiations. This is truly where ELS succeeds and is second to none in pre-litigation dispute resolution.

Mediation

Sometimes, a dispute requires a neutral third-party to resolve a dispute. ELS offers representation for its clients at mediation. While most cases pursue mediation after a lawsuit is filed, ELS has found that mediation can be an effective tool prior to litigation. Mediation offers a constructive alternative to litigation, providing a structured, non-adversarial approach to resolving disputes. Here’s what to expect when considering Mediation:

  • Mediation Process: Mediation can be a more formal alternative to negotiations. After selecting a mediator, each party generally prepares a brief that outlines the particular issues surrounding the dispute. The mediator then reviews the brief from either side to familiarize themselves with the dispute. Then, the parties meet with the mediator either in person or remotely for the mediator to try and resolve their dispute as a neutral third-party. Mediation tends to be an effective resolution to disputes and the parties can expect for their dispute to be resolved. 

Mediation can be an effective way to resolve conflicts without the need for court intervention, and we are well-versed in representing clients in this setting.

Some favorable outcomes from ELS’ Pre-Litigation Dispute Resolution services are:

  • Achieved dismissal of a federal trademark infringement lawsuit with zero paid in damages by our client and the negotiation of continued use of a similar mark/logo, prior to our client appearing in the lawsuit. 
  • Achieved dismissal of a federal Americans with Disabilities Act and Medical Malpractice case through an early, low value settlement, prior to our client appearing in the lawsuit. 
  • Successfully advised several businesses, including a multinational technology company and a clothing retail business, through mitigation steps to prevent lawsuits filed against it on the basis of vicarious liability that foreclosed those lawsuits through negotiation. 
  • Successfully mediated eight different lawsuits in a single day for the same client, saving the client tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys fees and damages.