Wisconsin Business and Commercial Litigation

Dealing with outside litigation counsel can be frustrating.  And believe me, we outside litigation counsel know that.  To point the finger in exactly the opposite direction, it can be equally frustrating dealing with the corporate counsel or litigation manager assigned to the matter.  The additional layer of schedules and reporting, over and above that imposed by the court, can cause friction even in the best of relationships.  To top it off, all clients’ timing requirements and formats differ.

There are a number of things that have helped make it easier for me to make the corporate counsel, litigation or risk manager, or other company contact not only stay in control, but also appear that way their board or boss, which makes everyone happier.

First, provide to us a copy of the company reporting requirements with the first contact regarding the litigation, even if we already have a copy.  Remind us that there is an initial report and budget due within 30 days – if nothing else, it will prod us to calendar future reporting just as we do the court’s scheduling order. 

Also helpful, but less necessary, are litigation reporting systems, like Serengeti or TyMetrix, employed by many organizations.  Systems like this make it relatively easy to format the information in a way that’s helpful to you, and often provide the third thing that helps us sometimes-forgetful litigation counsel to report timely:  email reminders or some other form of notification.

We are often caught up in defending or prosecuting your interests, and our reporting will therefore organically occur based on the ebb and flow of the matter, rather than on the arbitrary 30-, 60-, or 90- day intervals you desire.  It’s not that we’re not happy to provide the information, it’s just that nothing in the substantive or procedural events of the case demands that sort of reaction on regularly-scheduled intervals.  Reminders help – and also help us to look at the requirements provided, and have the remainder of the due dates calendared.

On May 19, 2009, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ran an article discussing the $765,000 cost of a lawsuit brought by five local school districts seeking the return of $200 million in investments made in 2006.

The Houston law firm involved is charging $325 per hour.  Milwaukee firms involved in highly specialized litigation generally charge, on purely hourly basis, this much or more.  What’s interesting here is that the school districts’ payment arrangement also includes a contingent-fee component, providing for additional legal fees ranging from 5% of any recovery below $50 million and up to 15% of the total recovery if the case gets to trial.

These kinds of blended-fee arrangements are becoming more common, particularly in high-dollar cases.  Agreements like this can be useful, guaranteeing the law firm some sort of payment for its work, but also saving the client from paying the full price of hiring specialized litigation counsel unless there’s some measure of success.