Aventura attorney Michael Schulman is an expert in litigation and corporate law, and is currently the Chief of Corporate Counsel at the law firm Hogan Lovells.
He’s also an expert on the subject of corporate lawsuits.
In his opinion, lawsuits are the single most significant threat to American corporations, because they can be expensive, time-consuming, and time-intensive to litigate.
And because they are so costly, the time and expense of litigating them are significant.
In fact, Schulmen said, he is convinced that if a company is sued, the average amount of money spent in court is twice as much as the actual cost.
That means that if you have a lawsuit, you will spend twice as many hours in court as if you did not have a legal battle, and twice as long as if the case was dismissed without a judgment.
Schulmans opinion, The Business of Legal Litigation, is available to read on the Hogan Lovelli website.
So how can we stop lawsuits?
Schulnessman said there are two solutions that will allow American companies to avoid costly litigation.
First, corporations should use an independent contractor to manage the litigation.
He says this should only be done after the legal dispute is settled.
If there is a dispute about a business practice, the company should go to a firm that specializes in handling disputes over the use of trademarks.
And, of course, companies should keep their legal team in a separate room from their staff.
This is because it makes the team less likely to argue, and it reduces the amount of litigation that can go on during the course of the company’s business.
“The second, and more important, is that companies should be able to settle with their former partners, and then have their former attorneys work on their behalf,” he said.
“If the company wants to, they can go to the firm of a former partner, and have that partner work on the company in their place.
That way, the former partners won’t be the ones fighting against the new company.”
Schulmans advice for American companies that are interested in a corporate litigation strategy: Make sure that you have legal representation, so that you can go in and defend yourself against any possible claim by the other party.
If you are able to get your own attorney to work on your behalf, that is a good thing.
The second solution is to have a third party handle all the litigation and to have the parties work together to reach a mutually acceptable resolution.
This third party could be a corporation, a partnership, a trust, or even a labor union.
This could include a private attorney, a corporate lawyer, a labor law firm, a private investigator, or an expert who can look at all of the issues and make an expert assessment.
“It is important that you are willing to do this work,” Schulson said.
And that is one of the reasons why he has written several books on the topic of corporate litigation, including How to Win a Corporate Case, a book that he co-authored with fellow Hogan Lovello lawyer John Latham.
Schulmans advice for Americans interested in litigation?
“If you are a company that wants to have more litigation, you should hire a partner,” he advised.
“And then, the partner should take the initiative to find the right firm to handle the litigation.”
Schuelmans next advice is for businesses that want to take on a larger, more complex, and expensive legal matter, but are not yet ready to start the fight.
“Then, you need to hire a private lawyer to handle your litigation.
And then you need a third-party attorney to represent the business when it gets a larger legal matter,” he told The Next Weights.
In the next article, we’ll talk about the importance of public awareness and the role of education.