Settlement Counsel

The use of settlement counsel to enhance the prospects of settling a case has been around for a long time. It involves using two sets of lawyers on a case—one to prepare for and conduct the litigation and the other–– whether in the same firm or a separate one—to explore settlement possibilities with their counterparts.

It has typically been employed in the past by large firms with large cases that could bear the cost of two sets of lawyers working on it. But in more recent times, inspired by the Collaborative Law model, the value of having settlement explored separately in a non–adversarial way by lawyers who are not caught up in the dispute has come to be more fully recognized and techniques to accomplish this economically have been and are still being developed. These arrangements for settlement lawyers to operate on a separate track can be made during, in advance of, or pursuant to a called time–out in a litigation. We are prepared to make them for you and/or to serve in that capacity.