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Trial by joint venture: you know you shouldn't take a case that's beyond your professional ken. In the right circumstances, forming a civil trial tag team may be the best way to serve the client.

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Attorneys know they should never single-handedly take on cases beyond their professional competence. Not every tort lawyer is an expert in Vioxx litigation, toxic torts, or workers' compensation. Experience handling negligence cases doesn't make a lawyer an expert in products liability or defamation. Most professionals recognize their limitations.

This is especially true of complex litigation. Most small-office or sole practitioners with limited resources will follow conventional wisdom when faced with a complex case by referring it to a more experienced lawyer. But there is another option: trial by joint venture.

To explain this term, I'll begin with a snippet from my own history. Around 1992, I met someone who changed my professional life: Steve Kaplan, a skilled criminal trial attorney, former municipal court judge, and sole practitioner. Steve was handling a nursing negligence case on behalf of a husband and wife, and during a case workshop, he developed a solid, objective idea of the fair settlement range for the case. It should have been settled, but the defense offered only a fraction of the case's value and challenged Steve to take it to trial.

In the best interests of his clients, Steve immediately retained a trial lawyer with experience in handling medical negligence cases. But, sadly, a month before trial, the lawyer suffered a serious heart attack.

As we tried to hammer out a new plan, we considered three factors: Steve was a close friend of both plaintiffs, the injured husband felt more comfortable with him, and I had experience handling medical and legal negligence cases. As we talked, an idea hatched: the concept of independent counsel for each plaintiff. Steve would represent the injured husband, and I would represent his wife, who was claiming damages for loss of consortium.

Steve was unsure about his ability to try a medical negligence case, but I assured him that together we would be a formidable team. And so was born a synergy for civil justice I call trial by joint...

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