If you’re watching this video or listening to the audio version, that means a lawsuit alleging various business-related claims was recently filed against your company according to public court records.
You may be asking yourself, “I don’t even know about this lawsuit” or “I haven’t been served yet.” You’re not alone since this information will likely reach you before a process server does.
Hi, I’m Attorney Elliot Stone, managing partner of Stone LLP, California’s leading civil defense law firm serving the business community. My firm represents companies just like yours in defending business lawsuits just like this. Before I tell you why my firm is the smart choice to defend this lawsuit, we need to address California’s lawsuit crisis.
As you probably already know, California’s businesses are getting sued at an alarming rate, and it’s reached epidemic proportions. So if you’re like most business owners, you’re probably mad and outraged that you and your business have been sued, and I don’t blame you. You know lawsuits are expensive, time-consuming, and put the future of your business at risk if you’ve been sued before. You know exactly what I mean, and I think this video will likely forever alter your approach to defending lawsuits.
As you know, the law imposes very strict response deadlines, mandating a written response be filed with the court within the time period set by law in order to avoid a default judgment and putting both your personal and business assets at risk.
But what you may not know is that most lawyers out there, even those who claim to be litigators or trial attorneys, are scared and afraid of going to trial. And even worse, they lack the critical skills in the courtroom to competently defend your case. In fact, did you know the average trial attorney only conducts one trial or arbitration every two to three years? Not me. In the past two years, I’ve personally conducted four trials and arbitrations. That’s an average of one trial or arbitration every six months. My most recent was a seven-week federal court trial, and unlike most litigators, I really do enjoy going to trial.
Why does this matter, you ask?
Well, when you hire an attorney to defend this case, the first thing the other side’s lawyer will do is look up your new attorney to find out how many trials or arbitrations your new lawyer has conducted. And if your new lawyer has never taken a case to trial or has not done so recently, the opposing attorney will zero in on this weakness and certainly hold out for a significantly higher settlement number, knowing your new lawyer just doesn’t have what it takes to go to trial.
I call these types of attorneys “settlement lawyers” as opposed to legitimate trial lawyers. And in the end, hiring a settlement lawyer will cost you substantially more money to resolve this case because everyone, especially the other side’s attorney, knows settlement lawyers never go to trial. You know, I’ve been seeing settlement values on these cases absolutely skyrocket over the last few years.
This makes your choice of attorney critically important in assuring a successful and cost-effective resolution. Since we know most lawyers hate going to trial, the best way to get the upper hand in this case is to appear to the other side as though you’re ready, willing, and eager to take this case all the way to trial, even if you’re not.
So how do you do that?
By sending the ready, willing, and eager message to the other side, by hiring an attorney like me that has the trial skills and trial experience to take this case all the way to trial. In my opinion, this is the single greatest factor in motivating plaintiffs into settling their cases.
As you also know, the big national and large regional law firms are extremely expensive, and they routinely pass your case work off to less experienced attorneys, some of which may have just recently passed the bar exam and have never ever taken a case to trial. What you may not know is that these law firms often engage in a practice called “churning,” which is when a lawyer who is under immense pressure to meet their hourly billing quota performs unnecessary legal work on your matter in order to meet their firm’s hourly billing requirements.
I want to assure you that my lawyers have impeccable trial skills and well over 10 plus years of average trial experience, and our firm’s internal compensation model eliminates both the pressure and the reward to churn a client’s file. We know most cases will settle before trial, and most cases that settle will do so in a process called mediation. Because of this, you would think most lawyers have some basic training in mediation techniques and in the mediation process, but it’s really surprising most lawyers don’t.
Recognizing the critical importance of mediation in settling my clients’ cases, I trained at the Pepperdine Strauss Mediation Institute, which is considered by most in the legal community to be the gold standard of mediation training. My mediation training and background give my clients a remarkably unfair advantage in the mediation process.
When you think about it, why would you pay more to a big national law firm and settle for far less? You shouldn’t. You and your company deserve the finest legal representation from an attorney like me who has a proven track record, proven track record in court, enough trials under his belt to make the other side’s lawyer take notice, and a staff compensation model that prevents file churn and an attorney who is able to deploy world-class mediation skills as your company’s settlement secret weapon.
If this is the type of attorney and law firm you want working on your case, please call me. My phone number is on the business card that I mailed you. I know this video is running long, but please stay with me. I’d like to share some additional considerations that set me and my firm apart from all other lawyers and law firms.
For starters, when you call my office, you’ll discover why so many other business clients choose my firm to defend them in these types of cases. As a leading California law firm that focuses on defending business clients and their owners, me and my staff understand the unique needs of you and your business in ways generalist law firms simply cannot. Don’t trust the future of your business on a legal generalist. Smart business owners choose us for our expertise, and so should you.
By harnessing my firm’s experience in defending other business clients like you in similar cases, my firm will give you and your company a rare insider’s track on the best and most effective techniques and strategies to resolve this case.
Over the years, me and my team have defended hundreds and hundreds of these cases. When we talk on the phone, I’ll share with you my secret insights on how to get the upper hand in these types of cases, and I’ll even share with you my insider experiences with the opposing attorney and with the judge that’s assigned to this case if I’ve dealt with them in the past.
In addition, I understand how a lawsuit can adversely impact your business, and that’s why me and my team work tirelessly to help our business clients understand and take control of their legal decisions. When we speak on the phone, you and I will discuss and develop together a customized defense plan that minimizes the uncertainty, stress, and expense commonly associated with defending these types of cases.
You know, I’m often asked why a defense plan is even needed in the first place, and the reason is simple. You see, a well-thought-out defense plan sets the right strategy to follow and eliminates unnecessary legal expenses while equipping you and your company with the knowledge necessary to confidently make intelligent and informed decisions on how to best defend this case.
So please call me today to discuss your case, and I’ll give you my no-risk, no-cost, no-obligation defense plan. Once again, I’m Attorney Elliot Stone, and I look forward to speaking with you soon. Thank you and bye for now.