Best Practices in Litigation Management: Co-Authored by Bill Bertrand and Alan Garten

Best Practices in Litigation Management: Co-Authored by Bill Bertrand and Alan Garten

Regardless of whether you have been in-house for years or you are sitting in your first in-house seat, the word litigation can bring both fear and excitement to even the most experienced lawyers. Bet the company cases. Winning big at trial. Juries. The cost. The management hassle. Difficult judges. Budgets. All those phrases can pop into your mind and cause you to reach for that bottle of Maalox® you keep in your desk when that summons and complaint reach your desk. But it does not need to be that way. If you think about and approach litigation in the same way you approach the hundreds of other tasks you do as in-house counsel, litigation matters do not need to be fear-inducing events and can actually help your company and positively impact your career.

On June 23, LexisNexis will hold a litigation series live Webinar briefing in an attempt to allay many of these emotions. Hear from two gentlemen who have been litigating cases for years, as both inside and outside counsel as they help prepare you for litigation battles. Alan Garten is Assistant General Counsel for the Trump Organization, where he is responsible for overseeing many of the company’s most complex commercial litigation matters and disputes. Prior to joining the Trump Organization, he was an associate in the New York office of Bryan Cave LLP where his practice focused mostly on real estate related litigation. Bill Bertrand is EVP, General Counsel of MedImmune, the biologics subsidiary of AstraZeneca. In his role, he oversees legal affairs (including all litigation), corporate affairs and regulatory affairs for the company. Prior to joining MedImmune, he served in various roles at Pharmacia Corporation including litigation counsel and was a partner at Dickinson Wright, where his practice focused mostly on commercial litigation.

With this live Webinar briefing, hear the real-world experiences, both good and bad, of two in-house litigators. Receive ideas and tools to help you gain control over and manage different types of litigation. Gain insight into what you need to consider before launching a piece of litigation or what steps you need to take as soon as your company is sued. Hear how others stay on top of and oversee the litigation process, through the use of technology and other more traditional methods, and manage their outside counsel. How do you balance the need to receive the best possible representation with the need to keep the high cost of litigation under control? Learn what you should be doing on a daily, weekly and even monthly basis to not only stay on top of your outside counsel, but also keep abreast of the status of multiple litigations.

You will also hear how other in-house litigators have attempted to reduce the amount of litigation and mitigate their company’s risks going forward. On this topic, your presenters will share their first-hand experiences in trying to resolve matters in an efficient and cost-effective manner before becoming embroiled in costly and time-consuming litigation. You will learn how to adjust your company’s business practices so that your company is better positioned in the future.

Finally, you will learn about some of the more important factors to consider in selecting outside counsel for both small litigation matters and bet the company cases.

In short, litigation generally involves some of the most serious matters that your company will face. It could involve the key patent that is protecting your main asset or it could be the key patent that stands in the way of commercializing your first product. It could be that first product liability suit or a commercial dispute between your company and its major distributor. Rather than waiting until your company gets sued, this Webinar briefing will give you a jump-start on key factors to consider and what steps to take to make sure your company is well represented and best protected. Don’t let the tidal wave of litigation sweep over you without taking control. Litigation is a beast that can and must be tamed.