Vetting and retaining counsel for major litigation matters can be one of the highest-stakes decisions an in-house leader makes. In-house leaders should consider these five critical topics regarding retention of outside counsel for major litigation matters. Though these suggestions focus on high dollar, “one-off” or highly specialized cases, they can apply to any type of case.
1. Match the selection criteria to the objectives. First, look at the organization’s priorities and preferences, both as to disputes generally and as to the commercial issues raised by this litigation. What are the commercial implications of success or failure with this case—and how is “success” and “failure” defined in this matter? Does the company want to settle the case as quickly as possible? If not, does the organization want to “litigate” the case or “try” the case? Sometimes it is difficult to tell at the early stages, and counsel may need to be prepared for both.
