Our judicial (court) system is adversarial. That means that, unlike Alternative Dispute Resolution options such as conciliation or mediation, it is not based in cooperation nor compromise.
An attorney’s job is to fight for the client’s rights. By virtue of both sides advocating for their clients, justice is usually done. This makes a lot of people uncomfortable. When opposing counsel fight for their clients it can be overwhelming for a victim of personal injury.
Filing a lawsuit and litigating it through a bench or jury trial is also the most expensive route to a resolution as the court costs mount quickly. It is expensive to file the lawsuit (between $195-$400 depending on which court). There are fees associated with serving the lawsuit through a sheriff or process server (approx. $50/defendant). Taking the depositions of parties and witnesses has significant expense (approx. $500-$1,000 per deposition or more). Most litigations require the retention of expert witnesses like an accident reconstructionist and/or doctor, which will cost several thousand dollars each.
Under the contingent fee agreement, those costs are fronted by Orlando & Associates, PC (see blog post: https://orlandoassociates.com/blog/contingent-fee-agreement/), but are paid back out of the settlement or jury verdict winnings dollar for dollar. So, the lower the expenses are the more the client gets to keep in their pocket. After all, the whole reason we do this is to get fair compensation for our clients.
In order to avoid the significant time, expense and stress of litigation and trials for our clients, we often engage in alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) methods such as conciliation (the MA state court system offers a free conciliation program), mediation (the U.S. Federal Court system provides a free mediation service with a federal magistrate judge as the mediator), or arbitration. The parties can also agree on a private mediator/arbitrator and split the fees.
All of these “ADR” methods mean that a neutral 3rd party assists the parties in coming to a resolution. At conciliation and mediation that neutral helps the parties negotiate a compromise. At arbitration, the neutral hears the evidence from the parties and makes a binding decision. All such methods are more affordable, less formal, more conciliatory and far less expensive than litigation and trial.
At O&A, PC we engage in all of these methods and we do so successfully. So, don’t shy away from a personal injury claim for fear of a contentious court process. There are a lot of ways to resolve your claim amicably.
By virtue of reading this blog post you are not represented by Orlando & Associates, P.C. as an
attorney/client relationship is not created without agreement of both parties. Therefore, Orlando &
Associates, P.C. is not responsible for any decisions you make in furthering any legal matter in which you
may be involved. Each individual person’s case or legal issue is unique and you should not rely
completely upon the basic information contained within this blog post to pursue your own legal matter.
Should you have any questions about the content of this blog post or any legal matter, contact an
attorney from Orlando & Associates, P.C. It costs you nothing to have an initial consultation.
