When things go awry in baseball, the manager brings in a relief pitcher. When the same happens in a lawsuit, the client may choose to hire different counsel. Just as in baseball, replacement counsel may be walking into a tense and difficult situation.

Unlike at the beginning of a representation, there may be little to no grace period for replacement counsel to evaluate the case and determine an appropriate strategy. By the time replacement counsel comes in, the case is not a blank slate and may have urgent emerging issues or deadlines. It is possible that the client will view the prior counsel as having made errors or having pursued a less-than-effective strategy, leading the client to make a change.