Fixed Phases

What is this going to cost?

More than you’d like.

That’s the honest answer in litigation.

Litigation costs vary wildly and often surprise clients (existing and potential).

A client’s reaction to spending money on the fight also changes as the case proceeds.

For businesses and humans trying to decide whether to pursue or defend a commercial claim, it’s not an easy question to answer.

Budgets help, but they don’t capture the unpredictability—a witness crisis, a difficult opposing counsel, a slow judge (and much more).

And yet:

Commercial litigation isn’t a mystery.

It has defined phases—case assessment and pleadings, fact discovery, depositions, expert discovery, dispositive motions, pre-trial, trial, post-trial—and within each phase, the work is knowable.

Not perfectly predictable, but knowable enough to price.

So:

I’ve built a phase-by-phase flat fee structure for active litigation.

Before each phase begins, we agree in writing on a fixed fee for that phase, based on defined scope assumptions.

The client knows exactly what the next phase costs before a dollar is spent. Cost certainty.

We, outside counsel, carry the efficiency risk.

The fees scale by the size of the matter—specifically by the damages at stake, since volume and complexity tend to scale with what’s on the line.

A case with $650,000 in damages looks different than one with $4 million, and the pricing reflects that.

Scope changes happen.

Courts issue unexpected rulings.

Witnesses multiply.

Opposing counsel throws up roadblocks.

When they do, there’s a defined protocol—specific triggering events, tolerance bands for normal variation, and a notification obligation before any out-of-scope work proceeds.

No surprises mid-case.

And defined phases bring regular check points and places to (re)analyze leverage and settlement opportunities.

The question “what is this going to cost me” deserves a real answer.

This is how I give one.

♥️✌🏻🔥

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Husch Blackwell LLP or any other organization. Examples are generalized and do not reflect current client matters or firm positions.