In the enlightened age of mediation, more than of 90% of all lawsuits eventually settle. Good counsel must now see the pleadings in a different light. The Statement of Claim or Complaint is a very useful marketing tool. If drafted with all of its potential readers in mind, it can go a long way to set the table for a good settlement. Good pleadings also make statement about the expertise and ability of the counsel who drafted them. The authors are experience business litigation lawyers in Toronto, Canada. They use persuasive written advocacy as powerful tools in their winning advocacy arsenal.
This paper was inspired by an April 2003 presentation by Igor Ellyn at an Ontario Bar Association CLE mediation seminar. The paper entitled “Persuasive Pleadings Promote Settlements Sooner” is still relevant.
This paper was delivered at Continuing Legal Seminar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in Toronto in November 2009. It is intended for information only and is not legal advice.
Igor Ellyn, QC, CS is the senior partner of ELLYN LAW LLP Business Litigation & Arbitration Lawyers, a Toronto law firm specializing in business dispute resolution and international judgment and arbitral award enforcement. He is a Specialist in Civil Litigation and a past president of the Ontario Bar Association.
Evelyn Perez Youssoufian is a commercial litigation lawyer at ELLYN LAW LLP Business Litigation & Arbitration Lawyers. She has practiced law since 2005 and is an LL.B./J.D. graduate of the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor and University of Detroit Mercy.
ELLYN LAW LLP Business Litigation & Arbitration Lawyers is a proud member of two prestigious international networks, the International Network of Boutique Law Firms (www.inblf.com) and the Association of European Lawyers (www.aea.com).