From its base in West Palm Beach, Miami, and throughout Florida, Burlington & Rockenbach, P.A. wholeheartedly concentrates its practice in civil litigation and appellate, supporting these matters with professional legal mediation, arbitration, and special master services, and guidance for businesses and private homeowners. Burlington & Rockenbach is known for providing the highest standard of services to both clients and referring attorneys.
A legal project includes every aspect of the litigation process, from the initial intake interview (or trial), to verdict or settlement. A legal project may also take place at any time, often during discovery, mediation, arbitration, prejudgment remedy, or other pre-trial motions. In this way, it is useful to effectively manage a legal project, because of the vastness of this process. A court is unlikely to allow mistakes made during a legal project to be corrected later during trial. Making appropriate decisions at each stage is vitally important.
In order to properly initiate a legal project and move through the process effectively, you must consider a number of factors that can impact the outcome. For example, your civil litigation project may involve arbitrating an award, settling a case, moving through the appeals process, or planning instructions to jury. Whatever the circumstances, a sound plan is essential to your case.
Here are some key elements to successfully managing a legal project:
How do you ensure that you win your case? The process begins by creating a solid case strategy, followed by the preparation of facts, documentation, and important information for your civil litigation project. Proper legal project management goes beyond execution, but should be a comprehensive build-up to success. Best practices include developing a case plan document, and modifying that as the case progresses. This document will outline the responsibilities of each party and discuss the resources available, as well as liability issues and witness information. Obtaining an experienced legal opinion about your project can also help you avoid problems down the line.
Attorney oversight at every stage of your legal project, from the beginning brainstorming stages to the end product of a successful settlement or award, is important. An attorney should be familiar with the necessary documentation, deposits, and reports, as well as able to provide legal advice and appropriate case direction. An attorney is also responsible for oversight of the entire process.
Here’s a hypothetical legal project situation, and how one Florida firm approached it: Mr. Wright, a maintenance worker, was injured on the job when he fell 10 feet off of a ladder that was unstable. His employer never provided training regarding the use of ladders and he suffered injury to his lower back and upper amputations of his fingers. A search of local medical providers revealed inconsistencies in the alleged conditions he sustained during treatment that did not support his claim. Through intensive review of medical records and extensive medical deposition testimony, data was collected for an alibi finding, which assisted in his prosecution of claims against the employer.
The client should carefully document the areas of responsibility for all parties. Best practices include maintaining a repository of communications accessible by all parties to the project.
Keep an eye out for legal project management tools and resources that can help you stay on top of your case. Legal project management software such as IManage or Communications Manager can assist you in tracking the progress of your legal project. Speak with Burlington & Rockenbach about recommendations.
A well-structured legal project is necessary to ensure the best results. With the right team behind you, including Burlington & Rockenbach, your legal project will have the best chance of success, even in the face of missteps or unforeseen incidents. For legal help regarding a civil litigation project, contact Burlington & Rockenbach in Palm Beach or Miami, Florida.