PHILADELPHIA, November 18, 2013—Duane Morris LLP is launching a new tool today to help clients assess risk, to manage litigation costs and reputational exposure, and to plot strategic alternatives for litigation decision-making.
With Dispute Navigation Analytics (DNASM), Duane Morris now offers a comprehensive, proprietary tool for evaluating the qualitative and quantitative elements of litigation early in the litigation process. DNASM combines a thorough, step-by-step analysis of the various factual and legal issues facing clients in litigation with a detailed process for better predicting costs, risk exposure and outcome probabilities. The DNASM tool responds to clients' desire for cost containment and predictability, and makes significant advances on first-generation early case assessment methodologies. The process also enables clients to make informed business decisions on whether to pursue litigation through traditional channels or to seek alternative methods to resolve disputes.
"DNASM is a quantum improvement that takes early case assessment to a new level," said Matt Taylor, chairman of the firm's Trial Practice Group. "The cost management and strategic benefits offered by DNASM, including our analytical techniques and quantitative risk assessment instrument, present distinct advantages for our clients who are confronting growing litigation caseloads."
The DNASM tool first identifies the issues with greatest influence on probable outcomes. DNASM then applies a cost-impact evaluation in real time for each successive phase of litigation. The DNASM tool systematically accounts for a range of factors, including potential compensatory and punitive damages based on existing precedent; the identities of the adversaries and their attorneys; jury dynamics and demographics; the number of potential key witnesses; cost of discovery and e-discovery; result and cost outcomes of similar litigations; and any available intelligence on the local bench.
DNASM also addresses indirect but key factors, such as the cost of reputational problems the company might face as a result of the litigation; the impact on customers, shareholders and employees; and the client's relationship with its banks, financial institutions and other business partners as a result of the litigation.
In its widely-followed annual survey on clients' outlook for litigation, the BTI Consulting Group noted as one of the top market drivers for 2014 that "corporate counsel are embracing early case assessment as a potent litigation management tool to drive budgets and settlements." Said Michael Rynowecer, President of BTI, "We've been seeing a tidal ramp-up in expectations for first-year settlement, and corresponding urgency from in-house counsel on getting more accurate predictive and tracking information."
A more complete discussion of the DNASM tool can be found at www.duanemorris.com/site/dna.html.
As a companion capability to the DNA early case assessment tool, the firm is also introducing the Redwood Planning process management software suite from Redwood Analytics, a unit of LexisNexis®. Redwood Planning will provide real-time cost-tracking data on litigation in progress, affording Duane Morris clients and lawyers end-to-end transparency into the entire investment for a given piece of litigation.
"In an increasingly litigious environment, savvy clients need to know what trying a case—or settling it, or disposing of it in other ways— is likely to cost them, and they are increasingly wary about spending unnecessarily to prepare for a trial that may never occur," says Taylor, noting that fewer than 10 percent of lawsuits actually go to trial.
Duane Morris developed the DNASM tool primarily for complex, high-stakes litigation matters, including putative class actions. But the methodology is equally relevant for smaller lawsuits particularly those involving novel points of law. For case management of more routine litigation, where the variables are well-established, the firm will continue to offer a highly cost-efficient litigation process that leverages its experience and the economies of scale.
"Law is an increasingly competitive profession," says Taylor. "Clients demand more from their firms, and we believe the DNASM tool will give us a competitive edge in servicing them."
Matt Taylor is available for interviews on DNASM.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, a law firm with more than 700 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally, is asked by a broad range of clients to provide innovative solutions to today's legal and business challenges.