Booth 
One Simple Way to Avoid Litigation – Always Have an Attorney’s Fee Provision in Your Controlling Documents
May 10, 2012 at 11:06 am | Latest News, Uncategorized | No comment | By Chris Cramer
Always have an attorney’s fee provision in your controlling documents. It seems like a simple concept to understand. Repeat it now: Always have a fee provision. Without a fee provision, the party contemplating litigation only has to answer the question: “How am I going to pay my lawyer to pursue my claims in this case?” With plenty of lawyers out there working on contingent fees in this economy, answering that question is becoming a lot easier. However, if there is a fee provision in the contract or other controlling documents, the party contemplating litigation not only has to figure out how to pay their own lawyer to litigate their claims– but also has to come up with an answer to the follow up question: “How am I going to pay my opponent’s lawyer’s fees if I lose my case?” No one likes to lose in litigation—but think of how much more that loss is going to sting if you have to pay both your own attorney to lose your case and you have to pay your victorious opponent’s attorney’s fees for the privilege of losing.
Washington courts even recognize the importance of attorney’s fee provisions, as the courts convert unilateral fee provisions (awarding fees to one party only for the win) into bilateral fee provisions, allowing the winning party, regardless of the actual terms of the fee provision, to collect their attorney’s fees for defeating an action brought by the losing party.
Not surprisingly, attorney’s fee provisions oftentimes operate as a deterrent to the pursuit of meritless litigation and promote resolving a dispute without resorting to the courts. Which is just another reason to…always have an attorney’s fee provision in your controlling documents.
There is No Expectation of Privacy on Workplace E-mails or Instant Messages
November 14, 2011 at 12:43 pm | Latest News | No comment | By Chris Cramer
A common misconception by employees is that there is an expectation of some level of privacy in e-mail or instant message communications on workplace systems. The truth is exactly the opposite. As a general matter, employees have no expectation of privacy in e-mails or instant messages sent through workplace systems. Most employers have policies expressly stating that all communications composed on workplace systems are the property of the employer. Recently, in recognition of the common misconception, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) issued a formal ethics opinion stating that lawyers have a duty to warn their client, who may be employees using their workplace systems to communicate with their lawyer, that such e-mails may not be confidential. The ABA ethics opinion can be found here:
Beresford Booth lawyers represent both businesses and employees in employment disputes, and routinely help our clients work through employment related matters. Contact us today.
The Value of an Initial Consultation—and the Realization that Sometimes Hiring a Lawyer is Not Always the Best Answer
August 17, 2011 at 8:41 am | Latest News | No comment | By Chris Cramer
When it comes to situations where you think you might need legal representation, sometimes hiring a lawyer is not always the answer. However, sometimes it takes an initial consultation with an experienced lawyer to make the threshold determination of whether legal representation is necessary and/or the best course of action.
For example, a number of factors can influence a decision to engage or not engage legal representation to pursue legal rights in litigation. Some simple factors to consider are the amounts in dispute, the probability of success on the legal merits of the case, and the timelines to take a civil matter from filing the initial complaint through to trial (currently running almost two years in King County Superior Court). Less obvious factors to consider include the long term relationships between the parties involved, possible counterclaims or third party claims that are out of the client’s control, and what the client would consider a ‘win’ at the end of the day when the litigation, including exhausting the appeals process, is over.
It is usually during the initial consultation in which an experienced lawyer can determine what is in the best interest of the individual or corporation. Oftentimes, individuals are surprised to learn that a lawyer would recommend anything other than engaging their services—but despite what popular media portrays, ‘lawyering up’ is not always the best course of action. In most situations, initial consultations are either free of charge, at a reduced rate, or charged only upon the lawyer’s retention. Of course talking to the right lawyer, with the right type of experience, is the essential first step to determining whether you need a lawyer to pursue your legal rights.
Please call the lawyers at Beresford Booth PLLC at (425) 776-4100 if you would like to discuss your legal options.