Litigation Management

Litigation management encompasses the strategic and operational dimensions of legal disputes — from early case assessment and hold obligations through settlement evaluation, trial, and appeal. For any lawyer managing a litigation portfolio or advising a client through significant litigation, the legal hold, discovery, and outside counsel management functions are as important as the substantive legal strategy. Material litigation also implicates securities disclosure obligations and financial reporting, requiring close coordination across legal, finance, and the audit committee.

Legal holds are the first and most critical obligation when litigation is reasonably anticipated. A defensible legal hold program requires: (1) a documented trigger analysis; (2) timely and comprehensive hold notices to custodians; (3) ongoing hold management (reminders, new custodians); and (4) hold release procedures. Spoliation sanctions can be devastating — and they compound the difficulty of the underlying litigation at exactly the wrong moment.

Outside counsel management is both a cost and quality function. Organizations with significant litigation volume negotiate convergence programs with preferred firms, use AFAs (alternative fee arrangements), and require detailed staffing plans and budgets. A rigorous matter management system (e.g., eBillingHub, TyMetrix) is essential for tracking accruals and budget variance against reserves.

Government investigations (DOJ, SEC, FTC, state AGs) require immediate escalation to the board's audit committee, separate outside counsel from regular litigation counsel, and careful privilege management. Internal investigations prior to or during government inquiries are particularly privilege-sensitive and require disciplined scoping and documentation decisions from the outset.