First of all, remember that success, i.e. winning a court case, means obtaining the most favorable result possible. The assessment of what the most favorable result is in a given case depends on what evidence each party has collected, how it managed to present it and what the analysis of the facts looks like in terms of applicable law. I assure you here that the author of this article - as a practitioner - has seen lost cases that turned out to be won, and quite a few cases that looked seemingly good, but during their duration the prospects for winning them drastically decreased.
In the article, we begin with an introduction – explaining why it's best to entrust the matter to a professional, and in the following section, we offer several important considerations that can contribute to a favourable outcome in a court case. Regardless of whether you are the claimant or the defendant, you will want to play your cards in the best possible way, see as many of your opponent's cards as possible, and ultimately make the best use of the cards you've been dealt. That is why it is so crucial to keep emotions in check at all costs and approach procedural decisions objectively. It's best to make decisions like a smart, highly experienced poker player. That is, one who knows when to leave the table, when to stay at it, and when to raise the stakes.
Of course, if you are a less experienced player, it is worth listening to your lawyer. That is legal advisor or a lawyer - they can represent and advise in court disputes. Why would you listen to someone else on your case?
While you are a foreigner in the legal world, your lawyer is not afraid of the court, it is simply his place of work. Therefore, it is worth listening carefully to the lawyer's advice and, preferably, writing it down. However, you should always remember that a good lawyer has extensive experience in making procedural decisions, and most often he started doing his job because he had the appropriate predispositions to do so. You can control him, you can give him suggestions - but ultimately trust his experience. In 14 years of working in this profession, I have never seen a lawyer who would want his client badly.
What if you don't trust your lawyer?
So just replace him with another one, none of them will be offended in the end. It is quite common for clients to change lawyers, just as patients change doctors. Everyone suits a slightly different person. It is important that there is a thread of understanding between the client and the lawyer. If there is none, most often after such a change, both parties will feel relief.
Can a lawyer guarantee that you will win the case?
A small digression: As a practitioner who encounters clients' questions every day about the guarantee of winning the case, I have the impression that this question is a bit like asking about the guarantee of recovery from, for example, a serious cancer disease. The examination of the tumor and its size usually allows us to predict a lot, but many surprises may occur during treatment. Therefore, every doctor will confirm that there are quite a lot of patients in the world who had almost no chance of surviving their disease. Of course, it must also be said that some people have passed away from this world whose disease seemed very easy to cure. It's exactly the same with court cases. Losing is not always the doctor's or lawyer's fault.
With the above in mind, here are some good tips on how to win a court case:
1. Instead of litigation, it is better to choose negotiations and mediation
The court will encourage you to reach an agreement. And he will be right. In almost all situations, a negotiated resolution of the dispute is much faster, cheaper and more reliable than court proceedings. Often, judges will all but require that disputing parties try to reach an agreement with the help of a qualified mediator before proceeding to trial. You should make full use of the available mediation possibilities, because no case is hopeless. I guarantee it. When the parties cooperate with the lawyers handling the case and the mediator, it will often turn out that it is possible to negotiate an agreement that both you and the other party can live with.
2. Never litigate out of pure malice or pure revenge
As an old proverb attributed to Confucius says: Before you set out for revenge, dig two graves. Definitely don't make trial decisions out of anger and vindictiveness. This way you will always, always hurt yourself. In addition to generating excessive legal costs, your health, everyday peace and, ultimately, happiness will suffer. If you honestly look in the mirror and realize that your motivation is malice or revenge, it is in your best interest to find a way to settle or otherwise end the matter. Even by withdrawing the lawsuit.
3. Be flexible, seek an agreement and complete negotiations as quickly as possible
In the practice of our Law Firm, the vast majority of cases end in a settlement before a verdict. Success often means obtaining an acceptable outcome of the case. When negotiations with the opposing party are ongoing, try to be flexible in decision-making. Very often, there are many aspects of a settlement that are very important to the other party, with which you can easily agree. Usually, your conviction about the value that should be included in the settlement document will differ significantly from the numerical value presented by the opposing party. Of course, you should negotiate firmly, but in the end, it will be best if both parties compromise. Usually, the sooner this happens, the better – you will save not only your time but also stress and costs of handling the case. Usually, when really significant matters are ongoing, clients complain that they cannot devote full attention to their work and career. Therefore, paradoxically, if you want to win a case, it is best to give in a little. When I want to persuade clients, or their opponents, to conclude a case, I usually explain to them quite honestly that with a court judgment, most often against their hopes, they will do nothing with it. Exhausted by the process, they will hang it up as moral satisfaction and tell a few uninterested friends and equally uninterested extended family about it. However, if they reach a settlement, they may mention it at the upcoming Christmas holidays, but at the next ones, they will be talking about travels, children, or successes at work. If, on the other hand, a settlement cannot be reached, they will have something to think about almost every day as they fall asleep, and something to talk about at Christmas. And their family will only see a person consumed by stress, who is fighting, most often without a materially significant win. To summarise – only the one who quickly ends the game wins.
4. Look for win-win solutions
Referring to the previous point - in negotiations and during court cases, it is good to look for solutions in which each party can win. Drawing examples from a lawyer's life - once quite a large company from Krakow that we represented paid a huge deposit for a large, annual corporate event in Masuria. Unfortunately, just before the event, the shareholders decided to dismiss the company's management board, and the event was canceled along with it. The contract was very imprecise. The lawyer of the hotel complex, which demanded payment of several hundred thousand zlotys from the large company, was very dissatisfied with the idea of conducting settlement talks. After all, she planned to make money from the lawsuit. Just like the hotel's proxy who behaved aggressively, shouting "this plane has already left." And yet, efficient and experienced negotiators asked - how far in advance and at the latest can such events be booked at the hotel? It turned out that the minimum was two months. Therefore, they suggested "let us fly this plane when it's empty," i.e. when you don't have a reservation. We will organize this event in three weeks. Instead of conducting a court dispute for 8 years, you will still earn a lot this year. And we will rebuild morale in the company. What about the lawyer who planned to collect a large amount of money for preparing a lawsuit? The parties shared the costs of preparing a very detailed settlement agreement. In almost every case it is possible to find a win-win solution. You just have to look at the matter carefully and search carefully. Unfortunately, emotions often cloud the view.
5. Keep an eye on deadlines and formal requirements
Unfortunately, the court process currently resembles a procedural lawsuit. The legislator has prepared a great many requirements and formal pitfalls, the non-compliance with which leads to the termination of the case for purely formal reasons. Why? Such changes – contrary to the interests of citizens and increasing dissatisfaction with the courts – resulted from the method adopted in recent years by the Ministry of Justice. Its officials and the politicians leading them could not improve statistics, nor did they want to listen much to the judges with whom they were at war, and therefore they increased formal rigours. After all, if the court rejects a lawsuit after a month or two, then... the case is closed in two months and the statistics are "brilliantly" improved. Which statistics have anyway significantly worsened in recent years. Can't fix the judiciary? The simplest recipe is to increase formal rigours, i.e., to smash the thermometer – as a result of such action, the fever will drop, as a result of the complete formalisation of the process with the smallest details – the time for hearing cases will supposedly also drop... Just like public trust in the courts. Perhaps they will manage to win another election on this wave? Enough irony. The court's rigours, deadlines, and obligations must be adhered to if one wants to win a case in court; this is no joke. It is precisely on such mistakes that it is currently easiest to lose a case.
How to win a court case?
Really, what will be needed is good lawyer Although it is almost obvious, the most important ingredient for success (apart from the client's dedicated contribution in gathering evidence for the lawyer) is the selection of a qualified lawyer, i.e., an attorney-at-law or a legal advisor, who will argue your case well. Choose one who has experience in the specific area of law and with whom you can establish a rapport. Also, remember that if they are doing something that seems unnecessary to you – it often stems from the fact that a good lawyer knows how to present the fulfilment of a legal hypothesis in such a way as to almost force the court to apply the dispositive part of that norm. A good poker player is, after all, first and foremost someone who knows the rules and can apply them – meaning they know which hand combination is most advantageous.
I cordially invite you to contact with our Office.
Author: r.pr. Piotr Kłodziński