Do you work for plaintiffs or defendants?
While the position of a litigant (plaintiff or defendant) usually identifies the party in insurance claims and bad faith cases, at least in the legal community, in many other types of insurance disputes the labels do not identify the party. At Interisk, we do not have a preference for "plaintiff" or "defendant," because the party's position in the litigation does not help us to identify the issues we can support. Insurers can be plaintiffs as easily as a policyholder, especially in declaratory judgment cases. Sometimes disputes include an agent or broker, who may be sued by either a policyholder or an insurer. Many cases involve only insurers, or are in arbitration. So the labels "plaintiff" and "defendant" provide no understanding of the nature of Interisk's assignments.
Our usual practice in expert witness engagements is to request an opportunity, after we have been retained, to review key documents before one of our consultants is declared as an expert. This allows us to make an independent evaluation of the case at hand and make sure our testimony will be beneficial to the client.
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Why do you require a retainer before the initial document review?
The initial retainer indicates the client's firm interest in utilizing Interisk's services and the amount is calculated to cover the initial document review (usually enough for one or two days' work). If, after an initial review, it appears that we cannot support a client's position in the litigation, we advise the client's lawyer immediately and await further instructions.
Interisk's business situation is not unlike that of law offices. We receive many calls from people who are not serious about retaining our services but are most willing to take up our time. Some attorneys are merely "opinion shopping" when they call us. If they decide not to retain Interisk, it is difficult to collect for the time lost.
We now require that a retainer be paid before we do any work on a litigation matter, including document review, research, or providing preliminary findings.
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Will the retainer amount be credited to my first invoice?
No, we credit the retainer amount to the final invoice. If the client has paid in a timely manner throughout the engagement, that retainer may cover the entire final bill. Regardless, it allows our consultants to spend their time on productive client work instead of collections.
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How much will my engagement cost?
There is no way of knowing with certainty how much time will be required or what expenses may be incurred on any potential engagement. Hourly rates for Interisk employees range from $45.00 to $450.00 per hour, depending on education, experience and the complexity of the work they are completing. We have spent a great deal of time developing a cost-conscious organization that can respond efficiently and effectively to your consulting needs. We always utilize the least expensive employee who can effectively complete the task at hand. For that reason your bill may reflect the work of several individuals in any given month. Although you may not deal with all of those people directly, each has worked to produce the result you desire.
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Why do you need to look at the documents for my litigation case? It would be faster and easier for me to tell you what they say and mean.
It is very important for our reputation and our ability to defend the opinions we render in your case that we perform our own investigation of the documents or other research, and base our consultants' opinions on what we actually find in those documents. Providing the best expert services requires that we use the best methods available in our profession to prepare our findings, opinions and other work products. This is especially true in the matter of preparing expert reports, which we insist on writing, instead of subscribing to a document prepared by an attorney.
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Interisk Limited 901 Dover Dr. Ste 200 Newport Beach, CA 92660 Phone 949-548-2000 Fax 888-530-7829 info@interisk.com
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