colpm

Early case assessment (ECA) and 80 percent known in 60 days

The litigation group of Schering-Plough has begun to conduct early case assessments of its major disputes.  "Within the first 60 days our outside counsel is charged with giving us an early assessment of the case.  The firms are charged with looking at documents, interviewing witnesses, examining pleadings, preparing a damages analysis, and other steps as necessary.  According to PD Villareal the pharma company’s VP of Litigation and Conflicts Management, in an interview in Met. Corp. Counsel, Feb. 2006 at 47, 51, "in 60 days...  you will know 80 percent of what you will ever know about a case.”

Villareal, who came from General Electric, believes that “most of the time, that knowledge is enough to make rational and intelligent decisions about resolving a case."

A bold claim, it seems to me, and especially so if it is made regarding lawsuits that are deemed major.  Still, even if overstated, the rationale and goals of ECA are admirable.

Open Source Law?

Simon Chester recently wrote a thoughtful post about Open Access for the Law.  This reminds me that I see much more about the law of open source software than open source law.

That's a lot of "opens."  Software open source has taken technology by storm (e.g., Linux, Apache, and WordPress).   Why not "open source law?"  I've previously suggested that "from a client’s perspective, open source transaction documents could be a big cost saver."  Marc Lauritsen of Capstone Practice has proposed an open source approach for legal applications software.  The National Venture Capital Association has created a set of model documents for venture capital financing.  ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association) has developed the ISDA Master Agreement, "publishing a wide range of related documentation materials and instruments covering a variety of transaction types."

Perhaps it's time for general counsels to pool their resources to share non-confidential legal documents.   To some extent, lawyers can do this by tapping into the documents attached to EDGAR filings.  But a concerted effort to share documents and reach for standards could lower legal costs significantly.

Ron Friedmann