When to Hire a Lawyer for Suing a Company
A common misconception amongst individuals who are considering a lawsuit against a company or corporation is that one can do it by themselves. Filing and pursuing a lawsuit requires a vast understanding of the law and the rules which govern litigation in the Court system. The intricacies of pleading and practice come after the litigation commences. Being able to plead a cause of action and articulate the law is just the beginning. Recent Supreme Court rulings have shed more light on the responsibilities of counsel and the complexity of litigation against companies and corporations. Many of these rulings hinge upon the discovery process, and being able to document the necessary evidence to support a cause of action. Litigation against companies and corporations can be extremely complex. There are a multitude of entities, people and issues that must be dealt with on the path to success. Having an advocate present who can navigate all of these matters is invaluable. A good attorney can help with filing all of the papers necessary to begin the lawsuit, hiring any experts needed, attending hearings, looking up information and law that is applicable to your situation, and providing guidance throughout all stages of the case. Hiring a lawyer does not mean that there will automatically be a lawsuit filed . A good attorney will be instrumental in making an informed decision by looking at all of the aspects of a potential case. However, it is also important to speak with a lawyer as early as possible. Defenses that companies and corporations have available to them become much more prevalent the longer one waits to file a lawsuit. For instance, if there is a contract at issue and it was signed within the last five years, the company can argue that you have not brought your lawsuit in time and that the case should be dismissed. If the contract is older than that, there may be defenses available to the company that a lawyer would be able to help you determine early on. In addition, having a lawyer does not mean that you are unable to proceed with the lawsuit on your own. An attorney will be able to advise you on what the best course of action is and what the benefits and disadvantages of proceeding with a case are. Much of the time, when we receive a potential client’s information, we are able to give them credible advice on how to proceed. Not every case is worth pursuing, and sometimes a case is better off being pursued by the individual. However, this is always decided at the consultation with the potential client and the attorney. It is important to discuss all aspects of the matter with the attorney at hand.
Characteristics of a Great Lawyer for Your Lawsuit
Finding the right lawyer to pursue a case against a company is not as simple as it might sound. Just the fact that a lawyer graduates from law school does not mean that they have the skills and experience necessary to represent you. You want a lawyer who has litigated similar cases, who has had prior success, and who specializes in the area of the law for the case. Companies are much larger than individuals and most large companies have full-time lawyers on staff working for them. For your best chance of success, you need a lawyer who does the same specific practice day in and day out. You should also be sure that the firm you choose spends the money on the various experts it believes it will need to support your case. You do not want to hire a personal injury attorney who does not have and get help from accident scene experts, accident reconstructionists, engineers, or doctors to prove your case. You should also find out whether most of the lawyer’s prior cases have settled or gone to trial or appeal. If the lawyer has a reputation of taking every case that comes his/her way to trial, the company on the other side may be more willing to settle the case. At the same time, you do not want an attorney that settles every case for pennies on the dollar. This means that it is important to find an attorney who not only has trial experience (which means they have experience preparing to go to trial) but also settlement experience (the ability to negotiate a resolution without going to trial). Finding an experienced attorney, who has had prior success, who specializes in the area of practice you need, and who is willing to spend the money necessary on cases is the best way to find the right lawyer to go after a company. It is important to not only look for a lawyer that has won a case, but also to make sure that they have won cases like yours.
How to Locate the Best Attorney for Your Company Suit
When pursuing a corporate lawsuit, finding the right lawyer with expertise in this specific area of law is essential to maximizing your chances for success. One of the most effective ways to find an experienced corporate litigator is to conduct research through online lawyer directories. These directories allow you to filter your search results according to your case type which can save you a significant amount of time when you’re trying to obtain legal representation.
Referrals are another excellent tool to use throughout the research process. If you can obtain a reference from a friend or family member who has had a positive experience with an attorney, it’s unlikely they will point you in the direction of an irrelevant or unqualified lawyer. Referrals from other attorneys and organizations are also helpful resources to draw upon during your search for a legal expert. Another option is to schedule consultations with various lawyers, either with the help of a legal referral service or by contacting lawyers directly on your own.
Once you have a few candidates in mind, from pursuing referrals and conducting online research, you can contact local and national law firms. Although many people assume that it’s best to hire a lawyer in their area, there are times where it may be more beneficial to hire from a bigger pool of candidates. For example, if you are facing a large corporation or an even larger group of plaintiffs, hiring a nationally recognized firm may be more appropriate than hiring a smaller, local firm.
Things You Should Ask a Prospective Lawyer
The following are just some of the questions you may want to ask during initial consultations. Do you have experience suing [insert company name]? Some lawyers and firms will specifically work on these types of cases for companies and have experience doing so. Others will not and may not have any experience at all if they are handling these types of cases occasionally. This question may be especially important if you are filing suit against a large company such as one of the aforementioned. What do you charge for taking my case? At that point, the lawyer will let you know what types of fees, if any, they charge for an initial consultation, what their hourly rate is, if they charge a retainer, and so on. This is something that may need to be negotiated, though many reputable firms will have a standard fee they charge. It is also recommended to compare the rates of other firms, as hourly rates can vary greatly between them. How much of this case will I have to pay in relation to your fees? Your attorney will not be able to do this for free, given that they will spend a large amount of time working on the case, and they need to get paid somehow. However, many lawyers will agree to bill you for only a minimal amount of your total billable hours for the case if they are fairly certain the case is going to take a long time. For example, if the case is going to take 100 hours total, you may only be billed for 10 – 20 at a decent rate. Of course, the lawyer would still do as much work as they needed to do to keep the case moving, but you would only be responsible for paying a fraction of the billable hours until/if you won.
All About Costs and Legal Fees
The types of legal fees you may encounter when hiring a lawyer to sue a company can include flat fees, hourly rates, or contingency legal fees. In many cases, it’s a mixture of all three.
Flat legal fees involve a set amount paid for the attorney’s work in pursuing the lawsuit. This is often best for well-defined services usually without any complications. For example, lawsuits for collections, minor fender bender car accidents, etc. require only the filing of a single document to get things started. However, once the lawsuit gets underway things do become a little more complex and if an attorney is willing to take a case with a flat fee it may be in your best interest to have that detailed in writing so that you both have the same expectation and there are no problems later on.
Hourly rates paid to attorneys vary by region, experience, and other factors, but the rates can add up quickly as the hours and expenses (meals, travel, etc.) stack up and you may be surprised at the end. In addition, while the attorney bill is reported in six-minute increments and they are working with someone of the authority and knowledge to ensure that nothing is missed, often times when one is forced to do the discovery and make decisions about the direction of a case they are at in a complete disadvantage. This is one reason why preliminary consultations with attorneys are important , as they can advise you which direction, assuming finances are adequate, you should go to put yourself in the best possible situation.
If the attorney is working on a contingency (as is often the case in personal injury matters), you don’t pay the attorney until the case is settled or decided in court, and even then it is often a percentage of the proceeds of the suit. The downside to contingency fees is that they are often substantially higher than hourly fees. Not only will the attorney take their percentage from the settlement or award, but they will also deduct fees that they expended to work on the case, such as court filing costs, expert depositions, copying and faxing costs, etc. However, depending on the type of lawsuit and your own financial situation, a contingency agreement could be a good option for you.
Trial attorneys often offer different fees as well, for example, if you attend and do much of the paperwork and research for your case, they may charge you less. On the other hand, if they see that you have what it takes to be a "good witness" (someone who can testify well at trial), they may charge you a higher fee and spend more time with you to help prepare.
Steps in the Lawsuit Process
Once you’ve found the best lawyer that you need to sue a company, you have to go through the process of actually suing that company. The first step is to file with the court. In most civil lawsuits, the process starts by filing a complaint with the court. A complaint includes your lawyer’s contact information, a request for the relief you are seeking, and the reason for the lawsuit. The complaint will be served to the defendant, likely through certified mail or a process server. The court has to have proper service, or it has no jurisdiction. The defendant will then have to file a response, in which they admit or deny the allegations in the complaint. Many courts offer the option of a speedy response from the defendant if they do not want to contest the allegations on the record. If the matter is settled before the defendant files a response to the complaint, your lawyer will probably release a press release stating what to expect. If not, the next step is discovery. The discovery phase is the time when a dispute is pending, before final judgment by the court. During discovery, the parties learn what the other side knows about the case. They gather information and evidence to build their own case and see the other side’s cards. The discovery period can be complicated, and sometimes arduous, taking many months or even years to close. Each jurisdiction has specific rules for how to proceed with discovery. Generally, discovery methods include depositions, written interrogatories, requests for admissions, document or evidence requests, submission of statements of witness names and addresses, and physical and mental examinations if necessary. Your lawyer will decide which methods are best in your case and carry out and manage the discovery process. During this phase, depending on the circumstances and evidence available, you and the defendant may consider a settlement. If one or more parties want to settle, it is time to negotiate with the other side. Settlement negotiation can start even before you file the complaint or wait until after the defendant answers the complaint. If you reach the agreement you are hoping for, your lawyer will likely make a press release. Otherwise, the parties continue negotiations. If the two sides cannot agree, the parties may go to trial. To clarify, a trial is a legal process by which a dispute between parties is resolved by one or more judges (or a jury). The judge or jury hears the evidence and argument presented before them and ultimately decides the outcome. When the aim of the trial is to have a judge resolve the matter, it is called a bench trial. If evidence is presented to a jury at the trial, the decision is made by the jury. Trials are either civil or criminal. A civil trial is a case in which a party wishes to hold another party financially responsible for personal injury, a breach of contract, or some other type of civil wrongdoing. A criminal trial is where the prosecution attempts to convict a defendant of a criminal offense. Civil trials can take place in civil or small claims court, while criminal trials are generally heard in criminal court.
Suing a Company: Risks and Considerations
Suing a company is not a risk-free endeavor. The same way that suing an individual can be more difficult than has been widely publicized, the stakes with going after a company are even higher. You are suing an organization that is likely much wealthier than you. The time and money involved in the matter will increase substantially. In many legal cases, you might fear the legal fees that can go along with suing a person for something. When it comes to going up against a business, your worries about legal fees will extend far beyond the reasonable. You can expect to devote lots of time to the matter, as well as potentially your life savings just to deal with the cost of the lawsuit.
On top of this, there are unexpected expenses that will go along with the time and money invested. There is the very real possibility that you will need to hire experts, private investigators and even other lawyers to help. Pretty soon , individuals who are familiar with your situation are sure to catch wind of it and rumor will spread. You may end up on a watch list for particular services of products. There is also the chance that a company may try to "return fire" on a person who is determined to sue it.
A countersuit occurs when the defendant files its own lawsuit against the plaintiff (i.e., the person who is suing them), even before the original lawsuit filed by the plaintiff is resolved. Generally, the company will focus on the subject of the lawsuit itself or a related matter. Some companies may choose to step beyond that and file a counterclaim based on something about you that ranks among their dirty laundry. A particularly unscrupulous organization might even elect to press criminal charges against you, just to gain the upper hand in the litigation process.
This is not to say that the idea of suing a company is a bad idea. It’s a scary thought, but it can also be an important and necessary one for many people who have been wronged by some organization. By understanding all the risks and considerations of suing a company, you are in a better position to manage your expectations and work with a lawyer to minimize risk.