How to Value Important Cases: Introducing Magnitude
Legal success is driven by the correct perception of risk. Plaintiffs don’t want to leave emptyhanded, and defendants don’t want to pay more than necessary. Sometimes the facts favor only one side, but most of the time a party’s legal risks fall on a spectrum between these extremes.
Managing that spectrum effectively is critical. But when cases get complex, even great lawyers have a hard time placing values on them. We have a solution to this: Magnitude®, our new artificial intelligence tool that takes the good advice of your preferred lawyers about the merits of a claim and translates it into dollars.
To illustrate why this is important, consider this hypothetical case of a traffic accident (this scenario keeps things simple, but you can substitute virtually any fact pattern in any area of law):
| The Situation | The Plaintiff, who was rendered a paraplegic when her vehicle collided with Company’s vehicle, sues Company. |
| What Your Legal Counsel Thinks | The jury will find no fault with Company 80% of the time. If fault is found, counsel expects Plaintiff to get about 25% of the fault half the time, and the rest of the time most of it. The case is pending in a modified comparative fault jurisdiction. |
| Estimated Damages | Each number within these ranges is seen as equally likely:
|
| What the Plaintiff Demands | $35M all in, although your counsel thinks that is completely unreasonable, and stands by her estimates above. |
What is the average exposure at trial in this case, based on your counsel’s estimates of these various possible outcomes?
- $1.4 million
- $3.3 million
- $5.5 million
- $8.1 million
Check back here tomorrow for the answer.
Magnitude® is a Monte Carlo simulation system, created by a Schiff Hardin trial lawyer, to tackle this valuation problem. If Magnitude® sounds like it could improve your bottom line, contact Jonathan Judge for a demonstration or to talk through potential claims.
