Suing or being sued? Winning Means Bringing Receipts

Bennett Guthrie associate Savannah Williamson, who specializes in civil litigation, business litigation, and insurance defense, advises that the best thing anyone can do is to be relentless in record keeping, which makes litigation easier, less expensive and more likely to be successful.

Want to increase your chances of winning in court? No matter whether you are suing somebody or somebody is suing you? And do you want to increase your chances of winning without paying huge attorney’s fees?

It’s easy.

Savannah Williamson, an associate with Winston-Salem’s Bennett Guthrie law firm, who specializes in civil litigation, including business litigation, says businesses need to adopt a firm policy of keeping up with records and building a clean file, to include everything, all contracts, invoices, change orders, any written communication of any kind.

That way, if you need to sue somebody, or if you find yourself in a situation where you are being sued, you’ve got written documentation to back it up. And because your lawyer doesn’t have to dig around in your file cabinets to find all the documents they may need, it will cut down on your litigation costs.

“What you need to do is cover yourself,” said Williamson. “If you do, then you can more easily show a detailed timeline and record of what you did do or didn’t do and what you have to back it up. As litigation goes on, it can turn into a ’he said, she said.’ It’s a lot more convincing to have what actually occurred in writing and close to the date of the occurrence rather than trying to rely on your own recollection months later. “

Put it in writing

 It is good policy for businesses to be aware of what they need. Thus, things like worker’s compensation insurance, commercial automobile insurance, liability insurance, internal employee policies, and good record keeping are needed. It is also good to know how best to stay out of court to begin with.

Educate yourself on what should and should not happen in the workplace. Have guidelines and document everything, especially when it comes to terminating employment.

“You need to be able to say, ‘that these are the guidelines we follow in all cases,” said Williamson. “We have the records, this is the timeline, this person has been written up and written up and written up, and this last offense was a fire-able offense and we have the records to support it. Again, it is much more convincing when you are able to rely on a document written in the moment, and not to try to remember something that happened ten months ago. Records matter.“

Construction litigation

Within construction litigation, Williamson said that much of what she sees in court centers on breach of contract, when work hasn’t been completed satisfactorily; and in worse cases, when fraud has occurred after contractors take money up front but fail to show up to do the work. If a plaintiff proves that a contractor has indeed engaged in fraud, then that streamlines a plaintiff’s path to tripling their recovery underneath North Carolina’s unfair and deceptive trade practices act.

“That’s why you need to do the right thing,” Williamson said. “Know what you are signing and know what you are agreeing to do and follow through. If change orders come along, put it in writing, and be explicit so that there is no confusion on what was promised to be completed.”

Williamson said that changes in the way that the Court keeps records and prior filings are likely to make life even more challenging for contractors because court filings are going online.

“Now it is easier to do judgment searches and look to see each time you have been sued,” said Williamson. “You can see everything that has been filed against you – you could lose out on bids. Everything is going to be out there – it used to be that you had to run down to the courthouse to do a search. But now, everything that has ever been filed will be online. And that will be a lot.”

A way to help

Williamson took a circular route to practicing law. When advanced mathematics and organic chemistry, which she now says reminded her of trying to translate hieroglyphics, derailed her pre-med ambitions at Auburn, she took another path. Electives in international relations and later, in constitutional law, clicked.

“I was on the pre-med track because I wanted to be able to always help someone besides myself,” she said. “When I was a sophomore, I changed majors and started a pre-law track, which still gave me the ability to develop a skill set to help others.”

And she does. When first starting to practice, Williamson started in family law. After realizing that family law was not the area of law that she could see herself practicing in for her career, she soon decided to switch areas of practice. She says that she learns something new every day.

“Dealing with people is the best part of the job for me,” she says. “People are really grateful for the help. A lawyer doesn’t always get thanked but when you get someone out of a tough situation and even contribute just a bit to change the outcome, you can tell that they know that you have helped that person.  It has been so nice working for our clients. They are so understanding and so happy that we’re able to get them out of a bad situation or get their money back, which makes me feel like I accomplished my goal of what got me into this field – wanting to help someone besides myself.”