An experienced San Diego business litigation attorney resolves disputes quickly and cost-effectively for their clients. The Watkins Firm is able to successfully resolve the vast majority of our client’s cases here in San Diego and throughout California through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest and least expensive strategy to resolve any business dispute or lawsuit.
Important Takeaways of What to Look For in an Experienced San Diego Business Litigation Attorney:
- Nothing can take the place of experience. Look for an attorney or law firm with decades of experience in every legal venue including negotiations, filing a lawsuit, settlement conferences, business mediation, arbitration, and at trial.
- A thorough, well-documented chronology of events and a mastery of all available damages are the key to any successful business litigation.
- Many business contracts specify arbitration as an alternative to going to Court. However, trial experience is an essential ingredient when preparing for any arbitration. The experience to prepare a thorough brief presenting strong arguments under the law, as well as a thorough mastery of the chronology and damages will be important elements in the “decision is final, without appeal” environment of any arbitration.
Our Unique and Proven Strategy to Resolve Your Case in an Efficient and Cost-Effective Manner
Our local courts require “settlement conferences” and encourage proactive resolution of business litigation cases and disputes. Your experienced San Diego business litigation attorney from the Watkins Firm takes a unique approach to resolving our client’s challenges. We believe it is good business to resolve disputes as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, while accomplishing our client’s goals and objectives for the matter.
Our strategy is based on four steps:
- Negotiation
- Settlement Conferences and Mediation
- Arbitration
- Litigation
The first step your experienced San Diego business litigation attorney at the Watkins Firm will take is simply to listen to our clients. What has happened and where are things in the process? It is important to take immediate action the moment you learn of a potential dispute. In most cases there is a “hidden clock” which is ticking toward an important deadline. There are steps we can promptly take to mitigate what has happened or remediate the situation altogether.
Our skilled attorneys quickly assess the situation and establish a thorough, well-documented chronology of events as well as a mastery of available damages. We use this leverage to gain the attention of opposing parties and their counsel, and to drive the situation to a successful resolution or “settlement.” Disputes don’t have to be resolved in Court, and it is rarely in our client’s best interests to do so. However, when a matter of principle is involved or when the stakes justify the risks we represent our clients through to a verdict in court.
Opposing counsel know we are well prepared to take the case all the way to trial. They know our track record of success. This provides additional leverage as we work to establish a productive atmosphere which will lead to a quick resolution that fulfills our client’s goals.
Mediation and Arbitration
When negotiation is unable to resolve all of the issues in the case the next sept is usually the filing of a lawsuit by one of the parties. The Court will require a “Settlement Conference,” or the parties may prefer to pursue mediation. Mediation keeps your private business out of the public record, while providing an effective forum to present and resolve differences. Mediation is much less expensive than litigation. As your representative, we have much more influence and control over the outcome in mediation than in other legal venues. Our goal from the outset is to resolve the dispute, meet and exceed our client’s objectives and expectations and keep their business moving forward.
Many contracts specify arbitration as an alternative to trial. Arbitration can provide savings in terms of costs and time and ultimately results in a finding by the arbitrator. Your Watkins Firm attorney(s) prepare a well-crafted and thorough brief to the arbiter. The arbiter has the power to marshal evidence and testimony, and issue a final decision. Many of the superfluous motions associated with trial are removed from the arbitration process allowing the arbiter to get to the meat of the matter and resolve the dispute. The finding of the arbitrator is almost always binding and cannot be appealed.
Pro-Tip: “We know how to resolve a business to business lawsuit. We handle these matters all the time. We are able to resolve most matters through effective, leveraged negotiation. If not, the next opportunity is the settlement conference, or mediation. What happens in mediation?
The parties agree upon the mediator, and you bring in former superior court, judge Jones, and he’s looking at us, the lawyers, and he knows the difference between genuine issues and posturing when he sees it. So he’s going to have some control in controlling the lawyers from over-valuing this dispute and from over-posturing, just being aggressive for this sake of impressing their clients. And he’s going to go back and forth and have the purpose of settlement on his mind, which is what we both want. And a lot of times here’s the thing: they often don’t immediately settle. I’d say 50% of our cases don’t settle at mediation, but after a good mediation a month or two later, it’ll settle because of the mediation. Some mediators actually call us a month after when we came so close and say, ‘Dan, what can I do? Do you want me to call the other side?’ I’ll say, ‘yeah, good idea. Call the other side.’ And then he’ll call the other side. And they’ll their clients have calmed down. They’re relaxed and we’ll settle. We have to get to that 95% somehow. So there’s a lot of different ways using the ADR formulas, using them to your benefit. Understanding them gives you the best result in 95% of the cases, which is how they resolve.
Arbitration is when you have an agreement in your contract that says, I’m going to resolve this by arbitration and it’s usually quicker and cheaper, but you waive the right to a jury trial and the arbitrator himself can be very expensive. But in the long run, waiting to go to trial for two and a half years and waiting for a judge who has an overburdened docket can be just as risky. So arbitrations are great. They cut to the chase and you really don’t have a lot of time for dramatics. You have to have accurate law and facts when you go in and it’s usually decided by your arbitration brief because the judge knows when he sees a case that has no merit or has great merit.
And generally it keeps crazy verdicts from happening because if you win, you’re going to get something reasonable. And if you lose, it’s going to be something reasonable. Their goal is to try to be reasonable. They’ve seen crazy jury verdicts their whole life from time to time. And so, and they know the law on the facts. So normally I would expect, you know, a very reasonable sound fair resolution when I go to an arbitrator. The arbitrator makes a decision. The decision is final. There’s no appeal. And unlike a trial, it’s just over.
And, because we start with a thorough chronology, mastery of the damages, and all of our philosophies on how to prepare a case, we’re ready to go to trial. And we’ve tried lots of cases. If it’s a trial, we really enjoy jury trials. If it’s arbitration, we’ve been around so long, we’re comfortable with the arbitrators. And then jury trials, we’ve tried so many jury trials that we really feel comfortable picking a jury going through the jury selection process. Our whole team knows how to get all the exhibits ready, comply with all the court, local rules, having everything professional and laid out, having expert witnesses, ready to go. You put on a show, we enjoy doing it. We don’t think we should have to do it that much. We’d rather settle. But when we go to trial, we like getting that big jury verdict. It’s just wonderful.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
Your Experienced San Diego Business Litigation Attorney at the Watkins Firm
Your experienced San Diego business litigation attorney from the Watkins Firm works to resolves disputes early, and in a cost-effective manner while accomplishing your goals as a client. Remember that the clock is ticking and the actions you take in the next few days and weeks can make a substantial impact on reducing or eliminating your legal and financial exposure.
If you are looking for effective, experienced and proven San Diego business attorney we invite you to review our podcast Episode 11 – Resolving Business Disputes, and Episode 12 – Resolving Business Disputes part 2 as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.
Meet Daniel Watkins:
Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares deeply about what others are going through. Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems. He contributes his insights candidly and constructively.
Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.
Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a trusted litigation strategist and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.
He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.
THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR
Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.
In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.
