It's no secret that plaintiffs' attorneys look to catch defendants unprepared. And when they have filed hundreds, if not thousands, of cases, finding an unprepared defendant has happened more than once. One common thread that runs through nearly every runaway asbestos verdict in Texas is the trial court's exclusion of vital defense-expert testimony because of purported inadequate disclosure.
Few companies in mass tort litigation, however, can afford a man-to-man defense; that is, the one-associate attorney per 20- to 30-case ratio typically seen in tort defense work. Instead, to ensure that each case can be tried successfully, defense lawyers must develop an effective and efficient zone defense. The lawyers must:
- Identify all the common issues,
- Develop efficient systems for managing vast amounts of correspondence, discovery, and pleadings,
- Develop pleadings and disclosures that support trial defenses with minimal revision in each case, and
- Identify with accuracy the cases that will likely be tried.
We take pride in the fact that other defendants have adopted many of our disclosures, pleadings, witness outlines, and strategies. Learn more about our toxic tort and product liability practice.
