“TOO MANY LAWYERS, TOO MANY LAWSUITS.” The general public, including many if not most small business owners, have a dim and grim view of our legal and civil litigation system. The cynicism many of us have toward our system of judicial process is fueled by the rare but sensational and seemingly abusive cases – though most of those are misunderstood and exaggerated in the public psyche. The infamous case of the fast food customer who spilled her to-go coffee in her lap and supposedly received a multimillion dollar verdict is the one that always comes up. Do not believe all that you hear and read.
Stephen Ullrich has been actively involved with civil litigation on behalf of his business and individual clients – both as plaintiffs and defendants - for the entirety of his twenty five years as an attorney. While it may be technically true that anyone can sue anyone else for virtually anything (and there have been some truly insane and frivolous lawsuits over the decades), the reality is that the vast majority of civil lawsuits involve good faith disputes about a business or personal relationship that has gone south for any number of reasons. Poorly written contracts are often the genesis for a dispute ending up in court. Negligence and greed are also the cause for many disputes turning into litigation. Stephen may be able to help you avoid the need for litigation in the first place, and in the unfortunate event you need to initiate a lawsuit or find yourself named as a defendant in another’s lawsuit, he can navigate the multitude of procedural, factual and legal considerations inherent in every civil judicial proceeding.
TWENTY FIVE YEARS CIVIL LITIGATION EXPERIENCE. Stephen Ullrich has litigated a wide variety of civil lawsuits, both as plaintiffs’ counsel and defense counsel. His cases include a $1.5 Million Dollar jury verdict in Johnson County on behalf of a construction client for bad faith settlement practices against its builder’s risk insurance carrier, and the dismissal of a superfund cleanup case against a foundry client in Federal District Court. Stephen’s civil litigation experience also includes easement disputes, commercial and residential construction disputes, employee non-competes, “garden variety” breach of contract disputes, age discrimination, commercial and consumer debt collections, trip and fall and auto accident personal injuries, child custody and guardianship disputes and litigation for the dissolution of marriage. This is a partial list of the variety of civil litigation experience Stephen has accumulated over the years.
EXPERIENCED IN ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. The most important lesson learned during his 25 years as a civil litigator is that rarely (if ever) does either party come out 100% whole – not even the “prevailing party.” At a minimum, the stress and time inherently involved in prosecuting or defending a civil case can be enormously taxing. Settlement and compromise – and the avoidance or early settlement of a lawsuit - should almost always be the first objective of both the clients and their attorneys. This is why Stephen completed the forty (40) hour civil mediation training course offered by the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum; mediation is typically required by most of the courts in Indiana and Stephen has successfully used this alternative dispute resolution tool on behalf of several of his clients. Even when a formal mediation may not seem affordable, informal settlement negotiations can often diffuse and resolve the dispute. Stephen is a skilled and seasoned negotiator and an effective win-win communicator.
INTEGRATING YOUR BUSINESS ATTORNEY WITH YOUR LITIGATION LAWYER. The role of a civil litigation attorney in business disputes typically requires that the attorney become intricately familiar with his or her client’s business activities, if not also the client’s industry practices. This time spent “getting up to speed” with your business and/or industry unavoidably increases the costs of the litigation. When Stephen Ullrich is involved in the negotiating and drafting of your business contracts (whether business to business or business to consumer), or even better, if he has assisted you in the formation or acquisition of your business in the initial startup phase, he is then able to put into practice the lessons learned litigating other attorneys’ flawed contracts, thus improving your written agreements and hopefully reducing the likelihood of a breach or at least reducing the areas of potential conflict within your contracts if there is a breach. In the unfortunate situation when litigation is unavoidable, Stephen will already be familiar with your business and industry and the litigation process will be smoother and less expensive, and more likely one that is susceptible to compromise and settlement.
CALL FOR FREE CONSULTATION. If you have a current or impending civil litigation relating to your business or a business with whom you have had dealings, or if you have been injured by another’s negligence, call for a free half hour consultation to see whether you need an attorney, or perhaps a different attorney than the one you have been using. If you prefer, we will visit your place of business or home for a free half hour consultation for the same purpose. You will learn something in the process, whether you retain us or not. Please remember that making this preliminary contact will not in itself create an attorney client relationship although anything you discuss or share during that call or visit will be treated as and remain confidential.