As a business owner, you probably try to avoid business litigation at all costs. Business litigation is a drain on your time, disrupts your life, interferes with your daily business operations, and can take an emotional and financial toll. Despite the best efforts of businesses, sometimes business litigation becomes necessary. If you have been sued, or you need to file your lawsuit, it is essential that you choose the best possible lawyer to represent your case. You need an experienced business litigation lawyer with an in-depth understanding of your case who will advocate strongly for you throughout the entire process. Below, we have listed some of the most important things to look for when hiring a business litigation lawyer to represent you.
 
1) What are the Qualifications of Your Lawyer? 
When you are facing business litigation, you need an experienced lawyer who is familiar with business litigation. Take time to review your potential lawyers’ qualifications. Find out how much trial experience your potential lawyer has, as he or she will need to be experienced in court should your case go to trial. While most business litigation lawsuits settled before going to trial, there is always a possibility yours will go to trial. Lawyers who have recently begun to practice may not have the experience needed to represent you in court.
 
2) Will Your Lawyer Listen to Your Goals and Needs? 
One of the most important aspects of hiring a lawyer is to make sure your lawyer will listen carefully to your needs and goals. You want to hire a lawyer with whom you feel comfortable and who will take the time to focus on and listen to your concerns. If your lawyer seems too busy to listen, or uncomfortable when answering your questions, that is a sign that you should look for another lawyer. You need a lawyer who will quickly understand your case, listen to your goals, and explain the process to you as you go through it.
 
3) Which Lawyer Will Handle Your Case? 
In some law firms, you may meet with one lawyer but be assigned to a different lawyer. During the initial interview, it is essential to ask who will represent you throughout your business litigation. Will your case be assigned to a less experienced lawyer or even a paralegal? If you want a business litigation attorney to handle your matter all the way through, it is important to make your expectations known upfront.
 
4) How Much Does the Lawyer Charge? 
During your initial interview, you may want to ask how your lawyer will bill you for services. In business litigation, most lawyers will bill by the hour. Many lawyers also require new clients to provide an upfront retainer, a lump sum amount paid before they begin working on a case. The lawyer will deduct money from the retainer as he or she works on your case and bills you for the hours worked.
 
While it is impossible to know precisely how much your total legal bill will be, your lawyer may be able to give you an estimate. Should your matter end up going to trial, the total expenses will be more significant. However, there is always a potential that the court will award you legal fees in the end. Understanding a ballpark estimate of your legal fees will help you plan for the future.
 
5) What Type of Client Agreement Will You Need to Sign? 
Before your lawyer officially begins representing you, you will need to sign a client agreement, sometimes called an engagement agreement. This document will state your lawyer's fee structure, the amount of an upfront retainer,  and any other terms that your lawyer requires for representing you. It is important to carefully read over the document to understand what the legal representation will involve. Once you sign this agreement, you will enter into a binding contract, so ensure that you ask your lawyer to explain anything in the contract you do not understand.
 
6) What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Your Case? 
An experienced lawyer will be able to tell you the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Sometimes, it can be difficult to hear about your case’s shortcomings, especially when you have been wronged. However, it is beneficial to have an accurate evaluation of your case, rather than learning about the weaknesses down the road. Anytime you are involved in business litigation, there is always a certain amount of risk because there is no certainty when a case goes before an arbiter, jury, or judge.
 
7) What Charges Will I See on My Bill? 
During your initial consultation, you can ask about what types of fees will show up on your bill. In most cases, your lawyer will charge you out early, and he or she may charge a lower fee for paralegals or other office administrative staff who work on your case. If you see any changes that you were unsure about, it is important to discuss them with your lawyer and understand the law firm’s billing practices.
 
8) What is the Likely Outcome of the Action? 
It is impossible to predict the future, but an experienced business litigation lawyer will often be able to help you understand the likely outcome of your case as you proceed through the process. For example, if you are in settlement negotiations, an experienced lawyer will often have a feel for how the negotiations will proceed.
 
Contact Solomon Appeals, Mediation & Arbitration Today
 Attorney Donna Solomon has decades of experience in the area of business litigation. She is board certified by the Florida Bar as an Appellate Specialist and a Business Ligitagor. She is also one of only three certified attorneys in both appellate practice and business litigation. She is a Certified Public Accountant with an MBA in Finance. She focuses on getting to the heart of the matter. Contact Solomon Appeals, Mediation & Arbitration today to schedule your initial consultation. 

Real estate disputes are common, and they come in all shapes and sizes. When real estate issues come up, litigation can often be necessary. Turning immediately to the courts is often the first reaction of the parties involved. When people feel as if they have been wronged regarding property transactions, they may feel inclined to take an aggressive approach. 

However, in reality, extended real estate litigation can be emotionally and financially draining for all of the participants. When real estate buyers and sellers, as well as landlords and tenants, can mediate their differences out of court, everybody benefits. 

Consider Your Non-Negotiable IssuesLitigation is almost always unpredictable, stressful, and expensive. One reason parties often benefit from mediation is that they still maintain control over the outcome of the dispute. In other words, they aren’t waiting to see how a judge will rule in their case and risking that the judge will rule unfavorably. 

Before you start the mediation process, it is important to consider what your bottom line is for certain issues. For example, if you are involved in a dispute of commercial real estate and you are the seller, consider the lowest amount you will accept for the property. Do not make your bottom line known to the other party, but you can discuss it with your legal representation. You can always work backward when it comes to a strategy for better determining your button line. In other words, start with your ideal amount and then work backward. 

Consider Attorneys’ Fees and How They Play Into Your CaseYou will need to consider attorneys’ fees and costs when you engage in a risk analysis. Even if the other party is willing to meet or exceed your absolute bottom line, the legal costs associated with your case could drop the ultimate settlement so low that you cannot pay your fees and costs and still come out ahead. Typically, unless a real estate contract states differently, each party in a dispute has to bear their own attorney’s fees. 

If you are not able to pay for your own attorney’s fees and costs, you need to factor in the expected total into your recovery amount. The good news is that mediation is almost always significantly less expensive than litigation. If you do have a reasonable expectation that you will be able to cover your attorneys’ fees and costs reimbursed by the other party, this should factor into your mediation strategy.

Keep an Open Mind During the ProcessMediation is completely different from litigation. During litigation, the parties need to follow rigid rules of procedure. A somewhat aggressive approach is necessary to succeed in litigation. On the contrary, mediation allows the parties to discuss their problems and talk openly. You do not need to communicate through your lawyers during the mediation process like you need to do during litigation.

During mediation, you can take the time needed to try to understand the point of view of the other party. Instead of coming in with your mind made up, try hard to keep your options open. The mediation process relies on both parties being willing to make concessions and try to find creative solutions. 

The more you let the mediation process work, the faster the process will likely go. Mediation is often the proffered way to resolve disputes because it saves everyone involved significant time and money. Instead of spending weeks paying to prepare for a stressful trial, you can instead spend your time in a series of lower stress mediation sessions. 

Compromise When NecessaryIn mediation, you have the option to compromise with the other party so that you can achieve a satisfactory outcome regarding your real estate dispute. On the contrary, after litigation, only one party wins, but they can still ultimately lose when the cost of litigation wipes out all their earnings. One of the benefits of working with an impartial mediator is that the mediator has the best interest of both parties in mind. 

Thus, the mediation process is best able to address certain power imbalances between the parties. An effective mediator will not let one side trample the other side, but will listen to the goals and needs of each side to spur them on to find a solution that works for both. With a quality mediator, neither party should feel like they are being taken advantage of or treated unfairly. 

Concentrate of the Legal Issue, Not the Other PartyBy the time a real estate issue gets to the mediation stage, both parties may already have developed harsh feelings toward the other. While understandable, focusing on fighting against the other party who may have wronged your business will not help the mediation process move forward. One of the most important things you can do to help the mediation process move forward is to focus on the actual real estate issue at the center of your dispute. 

As hard as it can be, putting aside your frustrations regarding the other party as soon as possible can be incredibly important. Some mediators allow the parties to vent their frustrations in the beginning, then ask the parties to agree to engage in a productive discussion on the issues. Your mediator can help you and the other party lay out all of the issues that you need to resolve. 

Contact Solomon Appeals, Mediation, and Arbitration TodayFounding attorney Donna Greenspan Solomon has decades of experience when it comes to mediation. She offers mediation services to those already represented by lawyers. As an experienced litigator, she understands the importance of hiring a mediator who understands the underlying substantive area of business litigation. She is a proactive mediator who gets to the heart of the dispute and patients help the parties resolve the issue. Contact her today to schedule an initial consultation. ​

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