"Maria was very effective in leveraging my time and saving the client money by dealing with a multitude of operational and other issues. She achieved operational efficiencies throughout the litigation, which saved our client millions of dollars."

Steve Urbanczyk, Williams & Connolly

"Maria has been a tremendous asset in keeping a complex high-stakes litigation organized and running smoothly… always seemed to have the answer to any question…. She was highly respected and valued by all…. I would recommend her without reservation."

Mark Lynch, former Sr. Counsel, Wyeth

"Her terrific operational skills, dedication, experience, people skills, common sense and bubbly personality have brought our trial preparation to a new level."

Calvin Litsey, Faegre & Benson

"Maria brings a "business" approach to the mechanics of the litigation and keeps things running smoothly and efficiently. That enabled the lawyers working on the case to focus on the litigation rather than management."

Jack Vardaman, Williams & Connolly

Maximize your opportunity to win

The operational complexity of litigation is growing, placing a greater burden on the trial attorney and partners to manage all of the moving pieces surrounding the litigation in addition to their other responsibilities and developing winning strategies. I focus on the litigation processes through a variety of methods, making it more cost efficient and effective, allowing the trial attorney to better focus on winning.

I don't do what anyone else does

Having an operations background in manufacturing, I was surprised when I first started working with law firms that, as great as they are at practicing law, they do not operate more like a business and have an operational structure within their litigation process or even someone dedicated to the overall operations and efficiencies of a case.  That was over 20 years ago and I have been working with great trial attorneys at top firms across the country ever since.  I know how law firms operate.  I bring a different skill set to the litigation.  I focus on the day-to-day activities of the timekeepers and vendors billing time to your case.  I work on a level way below what in-house counsel does -- on a more granular level.  Whether I am hired by trial attorneys or at the suggestion of in-house counsel, the results are the same:  the client, trial attorneys and their team are well pleased and they ask me to work on subsequent cases with them.

Improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs

Outside of the measures you have already put into place, the single most effective way to get the most for your litigation dollars and reduce litigation fees and costs is by increasing operational efficiencies within the law firm's day to day litigation process. This will allow you to reduce costs significantly without sacrificing the quality of the litigation. There is a direct correlation between the number of people working on a case and the rate of inefficiencies, so the larger the case, the more of a difference I can make. Typically, I save millions just by improving the operational efficiencies within the litigation process. It sounds too good to be true, but I have done it many times.  I would be happy to provide you with examples of savings from cases I have worked on in the past.  

Here are examples of services that might be helpful to you:

Fee reduction & analysis (this work can be done independently from law firms)

  • Consult with in-house counsel and procurement on ways to reduce litigation fees and expenses
  • Analyze law firm invoices and identify ways to reduce fees
  • Develop minimalistic billing codes
  • Prepare a guideline for timekeepers to use in writing their time descriptions providing a better mechanism for tracking the cost of projects

Law firm operations

  • Increase operational efficiencies in the litigation process, develop workflow processes, protocols and communication structures
  • Associate costs, timing and optimal staffing for projects by continually analyzing fees, workloads and deadlines. Routinely follow up on project status and ensure that they are done at the correct level of detail by the most optimal individual at the most appropriate resource level
  • Centralize operational management for the case shifting individual priorities and demands to team priorities reducing internal tensions, strains on support staff. Ensure that team members are always working on your highest priorities as they shift

Trial

  • Manage the trial site and projects, shielding the trial attorney from distractions
  • Maximize the benefits of mock trials; simplify graphics, openings, closings, directs and crosses to ensure that your case continually resonates with the strongest key points
  • Work with a team providing a full trial site service which gets you in the best hotels, fully equipped state of the art trial sites, catered meals, etc. Negotiate the best hotel contracts at the lowest non-commissionable rates with the lowest attrition and cancellation charges significantly reducing costs while providing a morale boosting trial experience

Available anywhere

I consult on cases across the country, wherever you need me, for as long as you need me. During the work-up of a case, I commute from Dallas as needed to work with you, or to work hands on at the law firm. My commuting expenses are included in my hourly rate. During trial, I work from the trial site, with the trial team.

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