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Business Litigation Demystified

Diane Cafferata

July 2020 978-1-7349761-0-6

DESCRIPTION:

If you are a business executive or manager, U.S. litigation is a part of your life. Whether your company is involved in litigation already, trying to avoid it, or trying to make decisions in the context of existing litigation trends, having a basic understanding of how the litigation process works is a must in today’s world.

In Business Litigation Demystified, award-winning Quinn Emanuel trial lawyer Diane Cafferata walks U.S. and foreign corporate personnel through the U.S. litigation process.

You will learn:

* What to look for in selecting a litigation team and when to engage them
* How to dismiss or narrow the claims against your company
* How to keep the discovery process targeted and sensible
* How to make the most of motion practice
* What to consider in selecting expert witnesses
* How trials work, and what your personnel should expect during the trial
* How to reduce and manage litigation costs
* How to create leverage for better settlements
* What exit strategies are available along the way and ways to avoid litigation altogether
* How to engage your company’s resources, including the litigation team, for maximal effect and minimal business disruption

Armed with this knowledge, you and your team will have richer discussions with your outside litigators or in-house counsel, a deeper understanding of the strategic decisions being contemplated, better control over litigation expenditures, better settlement and avoidance opportunities, and more. Foreign business leaders will enjoy this overview of the U.S. litigation process and what advantages and disadvantages it brings to litigants in comparison with other legal systems.

Diane explains it all in plain, higher-level concepts, with legal terms and important points highlighted in callout boxes. Business Litigation Demystified is a practical and painless guide to understanding the dynamics of the U.S. litigation process.

EXCERPT:

TEAMS SHOULD BE STRUCTURED AROUND THE NEEDS OF THE CASE

Close integration is not difficult to achieve. For example, early on in a complex financial derivatives case, we divided the associates into “product groups” — credit products, rates products, securitized products, etc.

Those product groups were then paired with businesspeople within the client organization. Since they had worked extensively with those products, the businesspeople were in a position to teach the associates how the products worked, how risk associated with those products was hedged, the jargon used in the industry around those products, and the business roles involved with those products.

These legal/business product groups had weekly calls and meetings together and analyzed documents together. By the time document production came around, the associates understood the documents, could spot the ones that were significant, and could ask intelligent questions.

By the time depositions and expert reports came up, the associates were far ahead in their understanding of the products in comparison with the opposing litigation team. Throughout the case, they could easily gather and develop the evidence needed to rebut or explain the opposing counsel’s arguments.

Not every case is big enough to support this kind of effort, but you can usually structure the litigation team to master the facts quickly and efficiently. Sometimes a client may be reticent to spend money early on in a litigation, but in so doing, they elongate the process and spend more because the case could not be developed and shaped early on.

Good communication between lawyer and client, and good strategic planning, can never happen too early.

REVIEWS:

Learn the basics of U.S. litigation

Are you an in-house counsel or executive having difficulty understanding or effectively participating in strategic discussions about pending litigation with your outside counsel? Are you a foreign litigant or attorney trying to understand and explain to others what to expect in U.S. litigation? Are your foreign clients asking you explain the U.S. litigation process to them? Are you considering becoming a business litigation attorney and want to know what the job entails?

If yes, then this is the book for you. In clear, simple language, respected attorney Diane Cafferata explains the nuts and bolts and A-Z of the business litigation process and how you fit into it. Reading this will help you better understand and explain the process and costs involved in litigation with your team and help you meaningfully engage in key decisions impacting the direction and ultimate resolution of your case, including the all important question of whether to settle or go to trial. A must read for foreign attorneys and entities participating in U.S. litigation and for U.S. attorneys with foreign clients. It should also be required reading for LLM students, whose value as practitioners often centers around how capably they are able to compare and explain the differences between local and U.S. laws and processes. With tons of real-world application, this primer provides key information and insights to help you avoid some of the greatest pitfalls and costly mistakes as a participant in litigation and eliminates the stress associated with not knowing what comes next.

A must read for every business owner

As a small business owner/operator with past experience working with in-house M&A attorneys and external legal counsel in large publicly-held companies, this book is indispensable! Ms. Cafferata distills the seemingly complex, confusing language and acronyms of business law into easy-to-read chapters with great examples. Not only a good read, but likely the best reference guide on the entire litigation process you will find on this topic. You can feel her passion and energy throughout the book! This should be a mandatory must-read in every MBA program!

Essential reading for business leaders

As a C-level business executive of a technology company, I had always dreaded the thought of my company being involved in litigation. To me, it had always seemed like a "black hole", consuming everything in it's path. I felt powerless, completely at the mercy of others, with no influence at all on the outcome.

"Business Litigation Demystified" has totally transformed my perspective. Should litigation arise, I am now ready to apply the same leadership skills that have contributed to our organization's success - leading by example, drafting great talent, and embracing diversity of opinion. I am confident that our executive team can select the right litigation counsel (I now know what to look for) and can actively contribute to a successful result.

Well worth the money. As one of the premier business litigators practicing today, Ms. Cafferata has packed thousands of dollars worth of expert legal information into one eBook. She has taken an extremely difficult, jargon-laden subject and made it accessible and interesting. I was hooked by the end of Chapter 1.