National Trial Counsel and Litigation Management

Litigation, whether product liability or a contract dispute, is no longer a local matter. It has become a national, and in some cases, an international issue. Plaintiffs' attorneys communicate with each other throughout the country by mail, phone, fax, and now the Internet. Plaintiffs' attorneys have filed cases and class actions throughout the United States.  In some situations, handling each case with separate defense counsel can result in a less than effective defense and can create problems for cases pending elsewhere.

Companies previously tried to solve this problem by hiring in-house counsel who would coordinate the defense of product liability litigation. Sometimes, this solution proved to be insufficient. More recently, companies have retained defense counsel to defend all cases or certain types of cases on a national or regional basis. The benefits of such a program are:

• Trial counsel and support personnel learn about products, documents and people. As a result, there is no need to reeducate trial counsel in every case, saving significant executive and attorney time.
  
• Trial counsel, with your team, can develop a close working relationship and a general litigation strategy. This gives you peace of mind in knowing your best interests are being served without spending time with each new counsel.
  
• Use of nationally known trial counsel conveys the message your company will try the case, if necessary.
  
• Consistency exists in discovery responses and approaches to defense of the case. Lawyers and investigators ask the right questions, and legal assistants organize the applicable documents in each case.
  
• With national trial counsel, each case can be consistently investigated and evaluated early so a settle/defend decision can be made well before the plaintiffs or co-defendants understand their case.
  
• Using product safety and liability prevention counsel in a national trial counsel program maximizes the benefits of learning about your company and understanding its problems. Prevention counsel can offer practical advice on how to minimize problems that have been identified during litigation or as a result of a legal risk assessment.
  
• The costs of defense should be no more, and could actually be less, than the use of individual attorneys. The cases can be handled much more efficiently utilizing younger attorneys and legal assistants familiar with your company and its products to perform many of the routine tasks during defense of the case.

Our lawyers, experienced legal assistants and investigators are dedicated to assisting clients in the prosecution or defense of litigation and claims. Our lawyers have extensive experience in serving as national trial counsel for manufacturers in a number of industries. We have the experience and expertise to meet your objectives in adopting such a program.

• Trial experience. On average, our trial lawyers pick juries and go to verdict between 30 and 50 times a year.
  
• National and regional trial counsel experience. Bowman and Brooke attorneys have served and currently serve as national and regional trial counsel for a number of manufacturers. Clients include: manufacturers of all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, automobiles, chemicals and detergents, forklifts, and building materials.

Some of our attorneys defend clients in pattern litigation nationally, including discovery  for several manufacturers in similar cases. Also, the firm has served as general counsel for manufacturers on product liability matters, including managing litigation and consulting on product safety issues.