The truth is, settling a case for millions is not necessarily a big feat — not when the defendant is clearly at fault and not when the plaintiff has indisputably suffered life-changing injuries. That case settles for millions because a large verdict is likely.
Attorneys who only tell you that they’ve settled cases for millions are trying to impress you while, in reality, that alone says nothing about their litigation skills. Their clients may have deserved that money and perhaps more, and would have gotten it with the help of any competent injury lawyer because the evidence was indisputable.
Achieving a jury verdict for millions when liability and damages are disputed — now that is a big deal. It takes an experienced, determined and skilled lawyer to prevail for a client when the parties dispute the facts and damages or when the evidence isn’t clear. It’s a real achievement to win those cases.
So, what do you need to know to determine whether a million-dollar outcome was achieved through lawyering skills? If the defense settlement offer was a fraction of the jury verdict, you can conclude the outcome probably resulted from litigation skills.
When a lawyer only provides you a list of six- and seven-figure settlements, that tells you nothing about his or her litigation skills. Perhaps he or she hustled those large cases by touting prior settlements. All you know for sure is that lawyer has great marketing skills.
At the Traut Firm, we provide you a list of our most recent jury verdicts, not just settlements, along with the amount of the defense settlement offer on each case. After all, who do you want representing you — the lawyer with the best marketing skills or the best litigation skills?
Since 1978 we have had exceptional results in more than 250 jury trials, with over 100 six- and seven-figure verdicts and settlements.
