Courtroom Lessons for the Business Owner/Employer
January 31, 2012
I know it’s been a while since my last post, but a trial always gets in the way of blog posts. So after the dust has settled on the trial I have a few thoughts on what business owners and employers should always consider when considering the pros/cons of going to trial. Hopefully these are things that you already knew but better to discuss now than later. So, off we go:
- Loss of Control – The judge and jury will be making the decision, not management. Unfortunately you can’t always predict what the fact finder will do.
- Trials are expensive – That’s not groundbreaking news, but think about all of the extra costs: (a) multiple lawyers, paralegals, and support staff working around the clock on the case (depending on size of course); costs for courtroom presentation equipment (rentals); meals for all involved in the trial; and the costs involved in having you employers tied up in a trial.
- Trials are a time-suck – Employee witnesses will have to be on call. Lawyers can never quite tell when the employee will testify. Of course, a client representative will have to be at trial the whole time.
- Trials are stressful for all involved.
- People (witnesses) don’t always say what they should or what you think they will say;
- Things go wrong during trials that you don’t expect;
- The trial is not the end – there are always filings after the verdict, maybe another mediation, maybe even an appeal; and
- Did I mention trials are expensive?
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