When Do Cases Settle?

Video Transcript

MURRAY OGBORN: Of course the best outcome for any client under any circumstance is usually settlement. Often times we can’t achieve a settlement that is fair for our client or acceptable to our client, and those are the times we have to go to trial.

MICHAEL MIHM: I get asked whether the case is going to settle a lot. What we tell clients is that you can’t count on settlement. We have to assume that the case will go forward to trial.

MIKE OGBORN: With every case that we work on, we work on that case as if it is going to go to trial. We do that so that we can be the best prepared and actually be ready to go to trial at any time. 98% of the cases never make it into a courtroom. But we know that by being the best prepared, we give our clients and advantage and an edge that other attorneys cannot give their clients.

MURRAY OGBORN: We are always looking for that opportunity to reach a settlement or convince the other side that settlement is the best course of action. And sometimes that takes a little while. You don’t want to urge settlement, request settlement, or suggest settlement until the appropriate moment. And that appropriate moment is almost unpredictable. And it never comes until you have backed the other side into a position where they recognize their weaknesses.

MIKE OGBORN: We believe that by being known as trial lawyers we receive better offers and we obtain better settlements for our clients. Because people know that we are not going to give up in the short run, we are going to take this all the way.