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PICKING A LAWYER WHO WINS IN COURT |
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For medical procedures, including such matters as open heart surgery, colonoscopies etc. the standard wisdom is to select a physician who has done the procedure many times with good results. For example, with cardiac surgery the results may be measured in terms of fatalities, and for a colonoscopy procedure in terms of perforations of the colon. Can the same experience rule be applied to lawyers? |
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I have heard of a lawyer who states she never lost a case in trial. Is this possible? |
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Should I inquire of my lawyer how many cases of my type he has taken to trial and what the results were? |
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Do you keep statistics on wins and losses? |
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Aside from asking a lawyer about her litigation experience, is there any other way to gauge how good a litigator a lawyer is? |
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| Q: |
For medical procedures, including such matters as open heart surgery, colonoscopies etc. the standard wisdom is to select a physician who has done the procedure many times with good results. For example, with cardiac surgery the results may be measured in terms of fatalities, and for a colonoscopy procedure in terms of perforations of the colon. Can the same experience rule be applied to lawyers? |
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Yes and no. First, the rule regarding physicians should be tempered. The cardiac surgeon can have an almost perfect report card for mortalities, but this can be accomplished by taking on only routine cases thus avoiding the very significant element of risk involved. It is, however, true that the more a physician does a procedure, the better he/she should get at it. The same rule should apply to lawyers. |
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| Q: |
I have heard of a lawyer who states she never lost a case in trial. Is this possible? |
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Yes, but it is like the surgeon who does not perform any risky surgeries. The criminal defense lawyer who bragged about not losing any cases could undoubtedly have settled many of the cases on a favorable basis and not gone to trial thereby saving her client money. |
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| Q: |
Should I inquire of my lawyer how many cases of my type he has taken to trial and what the results were? |
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Yes. You should know whether your lawyer is experienced in the issues in your case which may have to go to trial. Ninety-five percent of all cases filed in court are settled and do not go to trial. It is, however, the threat, or the leverage, of going to trial and the uncertainty of how the judge will rule that usually brings about settlements. A lawyer who is not known to be a capable courtroom lawyer cannot leverage the best possible settlement. |
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| Q: |
Do you keep statistics on wins and losses? |
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No. The reason is that in a typical divorce case which goes to trial there are multiple issues, such as child support, maintenance (alimony), property division, etc. It is not like in a criminal case where the defendant wins if he is found not guilty. In a divorce case you take it issue by issue as to winning. A win on an issue, like maintenance, is whether you received in trial more than what was offered in settlement. The only time there is a clear win or loss in a divorce case is in regard to child custody. |
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| Q: |
Aside from asking a lawyer about her litigation experience, is there any other way to gauge how good a litigator a lawyer is? |
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Probably the best way is to spend several days in divorce court watching lawyers. |
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