Originally from Journal of Damages in International Arbitration

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ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION / OPEN FORUM

The panel was convened at 4:30 p.m., on 18 November 2013, by Lisa Richman, who introduced panelist Rory Walck, Partner and Co-Founder of Global Analytics LLC., and Roberto Aguirro Luzi, Partner in King and Spalding’s Houston office. 

Remarks by Rory Walck

The goal of this panel is to elicit your questions, to elicit from people on our panels who had laundry lists of points that there just wasn’t enough time to get to, to maybe circle back and finally answer some questions—for example, the gentleman in the back row from Nigeria asked a question about independence, is it reality or myth? Because Mike Nolan’s panel was running short, we didn’t really have time to address that. Let me take that question now with my view on it and a personal story here.

When I was very young in my career, which is longer ago than I care to admit, I was working on a claim for a client who was being accused of attempting to defraud an insurance company, and we were pressing the claim on his behalf against the insurer. And I had one particularly unpleasant moment in a conference room in Chicago where the partner in a major law firm, pounding on the table, standing across from me, going: “You mean to tell me I spent $200,000 and you won’t give me the answer I want?” And I said: “Yes, that pretty well nailed it, counsel, sorry. But let me tell you why I think you are better off because of that.”

I’m not the smartest guy on the planet. We’re all intelligent, well-trained, motivated people. We know what we’re doing, but if I can see weaknesses in your case, then Sirshar is going to see them, Greig is going to see them. Any good expert on the other side is going to see them, too. They are going to come out. You are better served knowing about it now when you can alter your settlement position, and the way you conduct discovery in the avenue that you take in proceeding in the claim.