What To Do After An Injury
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What To Do After An Injury

ByKevin Williams

WHAT TO DO AFTER AN INJURY:  The days, weeks, months and even years after an injury can be an especially stressful time. You should not go it alone. Insurance companies have one primary goal which is to compensate you as little as possible, assuming they do not deny your claim altogether. There are certain steps you should take to…

Preparing For A Successful Trial Or Settlement (part 2)
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Preparing For A Successful Trial Or Settlement (part 2)

ByKevin Williams

In Part I, I discussed the importance of case selection to prepare your case for a successful trial or settlement.  In this blog post, I discuss your investigative responsibilities and provide various examples. A. Your Investigative Responsibilities Attorneys have an obligation to investigate the case prior to filing pleadings. For the plaintiff’s attorney, he or…

Preparing For A Successful Trial Or Settlement (part 1)
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Preparing For A Successful Trial Or Settlement (part 1)

ByKevin Williams

I. INTRODUCTION One of the greatest challenges facing the attorney is achieving full and fair value for the case through settlement. If the settlement process fails, all counsel can do is attempt to achieve appropriate compensation from the jury, with considerable influence from the presiding judge. Once the jury begins deliberations, all control of the…

Can North Carolina’s New Bifurcation Statute Actually Benefit Plaintiffs?
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Can North Carolina’s New Bifurcation Statute Actually Benefit Plaintiffs?

ByKevin Williams

SHOULD PLAINTIFFS BIFURCATE LIABILITY AND DAMAGES IN NORTH CAROLINA? The General Assembly, in its infinite wisdom, inserted a provision in S.L. 2011-400 (SB 33) which will change our basic strategy in how we try civil cases.  Specifically, Section 2 of S.L. 2011-400 provides that any party may move for bifurcation on the issues of liability and…

Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 4)
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Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 4)

ByKevin Williams

My last post discussed the effective use of experts at trial.  This post continues in the same vein, but with a focus on damage experts. Effective Use of Damages Experts Remember the goal set forth by David Ball – spend half your time on harm and half on money. Among other things, this means you…

Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 3)
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Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 3)

ByKevin Williams

EFFECTIVE USE OF EXPERTS AT TRIAL One of the most important weapons of any trial lawyer is a reputation of willingness to bring appropriate cases to trial. Of course, a lawyer must develop a reputation for handling cases in the courtroom with skill and ability. Your effective use of expert witnesses at trial is a…

Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 2)
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Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 2)

ByKevin Williams

MAXIMIZING THE VALUE OF YOUR EXPERTS DURING LITIGATION Now that you have determined you have a good case and have built a solid foundation through extensive pre-suit investigation including consultation with your expert(s), you are ready to file your case. For plaintiffs, to maximize the value of your case, make good use of written discovery…

Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 1)
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Maximizing The Use Of Your Experts In Litigation (Part 1)

ByKevin Williams

I.      INTRODUCTION One of the greatest challenges facing the attorney is figuring out how to effectively use expert witnesses to help maximize damages in catastrophic injury cases. It is naive to think you may simply retain an expert or two, and allow them to render some opinions in the hopes they will make your case…

Preparing Your Case For A Succesful Settlement Or Verdict (Part 6)
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Preparing Your Case For A Succesful Settlement Or Verdict (Part 6)

ByKevin Williams

My last blog entry discussed various aspects of the settlement process.  If you can not arrive at a meaningful result for your client, you must head to trial.  This blog post discusses preparation for trial as well as the trial process itself. TRIAL One of the most important weapons of any trial lawyer is the reputation…