What to do if you’re being sued

In each country where I have sued or defended a client, whether in England, France or the US, an often bitterly fought dispute ends peacefully. Given the brutal nature of our species, this could be considered surprising. For most of the 30,000 years we have roamed the planet, disputes have ended with one party killing the other. Drug disputes are still settled this way. Yet we rarely notice that ending a dispute peacefully is an historic leap forward.

You may enter the legal system of your own free choice or you may be dragged into it as a defendant. In either case you come to court thinking there will be a fair decision. In your mind, that means winning the case. Yet my client’s cheerful expectations are not always met, nor are those of my client’s opponent, but one of them will come off better than the other.