For an experienced client, the cost of the lawsuit is part of the “victory” analysis. So is closure–or just getting it over with.
In America, the state and federal trial courts of record–rather than arbitration panels or mediation (which we Americans group together under the heading Alternative Dispute Resolution, or “ADR”)–are still the “poison of choice” to resolve commercial disputes. That is likely to be true for a long time.
True, also, that our courts in the U.S. give even civil litigants (a) due process rights, (b) pre-trial access to the discovery of evidence, and (c) opportunities to present evidence at trial–each on a scale the world has never known before. While that “experience” is often tainted with inefficiencies and waste, it is at least predictable. Litigants generally accept the risks of what can happen to them–through flukes, brilliance, or the triumph of moral order in the universe–in American courts.
However, the “bad news” here is also considerable–and, of course, predictable. Business litigation in the courts is (a) extremely expensive, (b) highly disruptive to clients reps and witnesses, many of whom are managers or workers, and (c) very lengthy from start to finish. Even the “winning” client generally loses–and loses a lot in terms of resources and time.
