This isn’t slip-and-fall plaintiff’s work. This is serious business.
Different problems need different tools. Whether your company needs to right a wrong or to cultivate a sharper reputation in the marketplace, you can unlock value by partnering with lawyers skilled in wielding sophisticated business claims. Business clients have special needs because internal considerations and regulatory obligations often constrain their available strategies. That’s why using outside counsel with corporate plaintiff experience is critical.
We believe in controlling the whole case and strategizing how to win every element. We reject the “kitchen sink” approach—that’s a sure sign the plaintiff hasn’t done the work to select the right claims and set a winning narrative. When appropriate, we believe in:
- Conducting internal investigations
- Using non-traditional jury research methods
- Drawing expertise from our transactional and bankruptcy attorneys
- Using pre-litigation discovery
- Pressing early and aggressive mediation
- Embracing financing options
These proven strategies achieve several goals. First, early internal investigations enable lawyers and clients to master complex fact patterns and test legal strategies. Second, pre-litigation discovery (like Texas Rule 202 petitions) and non-traditional jury research methods help set monetary expectations and can limit costs where claim values are uncertain. Third, using unorthodox approaches like early mediation can convert early investments of resources into settlement money long before the defense team spends its client’s budget.
Finally, we welcome and often suggest alternative fee arrangements for corporate plaintiffs.
Hybrid Fees. Hybrid fee arrangements, that blend a contingent recovery with flat or hourly fees, can meet both client and firm goals by aligning our economic interests. These arrangements sometimes feature phases, where the pricing structure evolves as the matter progresses through, for example, mediation, summary judgment, trial, and post-trial enforcement.
Budgets. Some clients prefer paying an hourly rate, in which case we use dedicated legal budgeting tools to draft reliable budgets predicated upon empirical data. We keep clients regularly informed of fees expenses in order to avoid unwanted surprises.
Litigation Financing. Johnston Clem Gifford pre-qualifies and maintains close relationships with litigation funding firms interested in advancing litigation costs on a non-recourse basis. Funders come in all shapes and sizes; we can help identify and secure outside financing if desired and available. Protecting the client’s balance sheet is part of our job.