Let's say you're number two on a court's trial docket and the case ahead of yours just won't settle. You have experts from all over the country in town and there are others you are paying to be on call. If your trial is continued, it's going to cost your client $40,000 in expert witness fees, and that's not counting your fee for prep time for the next trial date.
Here's how maybe – just maybe – you can get your case tried. And this technique worked for a former partner of mine.
Speak with the lawyers in the case ahead of you. You may find that they are only $10,000 apart on a settlement but, for whatever reason, neither side will budge from their number. After conferring with your client for permission, offer to pay the plaintiff that $10,000 to settle their case. It will cost your client the $10,000, but the client will save $40,000 plus the additional cost for preparing to try the case again.
This won't work in every situation. But I bet somewhere, some time, when you try this, your client will think you're a genius – that you're an "out-of-the-box lawyer.