Florida Settlement Counsel – Attorney Frank Bedell
As legal disputes become more complex and litigation costs continue to escalate, more businesses and sophisticated parties are adding settlement counsel to their legal teams in order to bring greater focus and attention to the settlement process.
The results of settlement counsel have been significant and one expert—the former head of worldwide litigation for Motorola, Inc.— published an article titled simply, “Why Should Businesses Hire Settlement Counsel.”
Definition and Role of Settlement Counsel
Settlement counsel is an attorney who is engaged for the purpose of assisting the client in attempting to resolve a dispute efficiently and in line with the client’s interests and objectives. Settlement counsel is not a member of the litigation team but assists the client in evaluating the risks associated with the dispute and ensuring that the client considers all dispute resolution options and techniques.
Settlement counsel works in a strategic partnership with the client’s trial lawyers, with each focusing on their defined roles. The client benefits from having focused attention on both the litigation strategy and a resolution strategy.
Trial lawyers can prepare the case for trial without having their advocacy diluted by discussing compromises with their adversaries, while settlement counsel can benefit from the litigation leverage and explore exit strategies, which are not deferred or dependent upon an external deadline.
The following publications, authored by dispute resolution attorney James E. McGuire, offer valuable insights into the role of settlement counsel in business legal disputes:
Additionally, Frank Bedell co-authored a settlement counsel article which was published in “The Docket” of The Association of Corporate Counsel:
Qualifications of Settlement Counsel
With over 25 years as a litigator and with recent training and focus on mediation, negotiation, and other dispute resolution techniques, Frank Bedell now brings those qualifications to settlement counsel. He is a member of The American Bar Association’s special Settlement Counsel Subcommittee and an author of a forthcoming article. He can help businesses and other parties decide whether their dispute can benefit by engaging settlement counsel.
To achieve an efficient and beneficial result, Frank Bedell is prepared to propose, structure, and lead the way of an assessment of key issues, an analysis of a likely outcome, and a resolution of the legal dispute.
Is Settlement Counsel Appropriate for Your Matter?
Frank Bedell is highly familiar with the settlement process from all points of view, and can help you determine whether your case will benefit from settlement counsel. Greater savings are obviously available when settlement counsel is engaged early in the process, but it also makes sense to engage settlement counsel when a dispute has become mired in conflict or when a mediation conference is imminent.
Contact Bedell Dispute Resolution
When you need a Florida lawyer who can skillfully resolve your business disputes in a cost-effective manner with the highest quality of representation, contact Frank Bedell.
A seasoned litigator, mediator and negotiator, Frank Bedell focuses on the skills and techniques of mediation advocacy, risk analysis, conflict management and advanced negotiations.