Adjusters – – are Your “Panel Counsel” Litigators or . . . Trial Lawyers?

Say you’re a claims manager or adjuster handling a file that’s just morphed from a claim into a lawsuit. There’s a decent chance that the case will go to trial. You have many defense firms vying for your business who claim to be superb litigators.

In some circles, however, “litigator” really means taking depositions, propounding interrogatories, filing Requests for Production, Motions, Briefs, and generating tons of paper—all as a prelude to phoning the insurer shortly before trial, on the courthouse steps, and urging settlement. The risk-averse adjuster or Claims Manager weighs the downside risk of a runaway jury verdict, extends settlement authority, and resolves the case.

Are you seeking a litigator or a trial lawyer? We tend to view them as synonymous.

They’re not.

In his novel, The Last Trial, author (and attorney) Scott Turow describes a protagonist’s opposing law firm. Almost none of its lawyers had ever tried a case:

They are successful “litigators,” meaning they are skilled in taking depositions and negotiating settlements, but with very limited experience with juries. That makes them a little like adolescent boys in a locker room…. pretending to know a lot about sex.

So, what about your “panel counsel” attorneys” Are they litigators or trial lawyers?

Don’t be lulled into thinking that these are interchangeable terms.