Before you call, most answers are here.

We engage on cases with a demonstrated potential value of $750,000 or above at the time of referral. This threshold reflects the resource commitment required to properly prepare a medical malpractice matter — independent medical review, expert depositions, and medical literature research typically run $40,000–$120,000 in hard costs before trial.

Cases near the threshold are evaluated on liability clarity and jurisdiction. A surgical error with clear deviation from standard of care in a plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction may qualify at lower projected value than a misdiagnosis case in a capped-damages state.

Our practice is exclusively medical malpractice. Within that, we carry active dockets in six subspecialties where medical complexity is highest and expert testimony is most contested.

Yes. On cases where we serve as lead co-counsel, Counsel advances all expert witness costs — including retention fees, deposition preparation time, and trial appearance fees. These costs are recoverable from settlement or verdict proceeds ahead of fee division.

Our standard co-counsel agreement specifies that advanced costs are reimbursed first from gross recovery, before the fee split is calculated. If the case does not recover, costs are not charged back to the referring firm. We absorb the risk on cases we accept.

For cases where we serve in a consulting-only capacity (records review, expert identification), hourly rates apply and are invoiced monthly. The PDF below details both engagement structures.

Discovery is managed through a shared workspace protocol. Upon engagement, your firm receives access to a secure matter portal where all medical records, imaging, deposition transcripts, and expert communications are indexed and version-controlled.

We do not unilaterally produce discovery without your firm's review and approval. Every production set is countersigned by both counsel before transmission.

Our standard co-counsel fee is a 40% share of the referring firm's contingency fee, with the referring firm retaining 60%. The client's total contingency rate does not change — this is a division of existing attorney fees, not an addition to them.

Variations apply for consulting-only engagements (hourly) and insurance defense advisory work (flat-rate retainer). All fee arrangements are memorialized in a co-counsel agreement that is disclosed to the client as required by applicable bar rules.

The referring firm maintains the client relationship at all times. Counsel operates as co-counsel, not substitute counsel. Your firm remains primary on the docket, leads client communications, and controls settlement authority.

Counsel's role is to bring medical expertise and litigation infrastructure — not to absorb your client. In practice, most clients interact primarily with their original attorney throughout the engagement; Counsel's involvement is most visible at deposition and trial.

Counsel is licensed or admitted pro hac vice in 38 states. We have established expert networks and jurisdiction-specific litigation experience in the following high-volume malpractice states:

For states not listed, we evaluate pro hac vice admission case-by-case. Contact us with jurisdiction before declining a case on geographic grounds — we've been admitted in 9 additional states in the last 24 months.

Every case begins with a systematic medical records review conducted by a licensed physician consultant and a senior attorney. We do not delegate initial review to paralegals or non-clinical staff.

Standard case evaluation — including initial records review and a go/no-go recommendation — is completed within 10 business days of receiving a complete records package. Expedited review (72-hour turnaround) is available for cases with imminent statute of limitations concerns.

To initiate evaluation, submit the intake form below with a brief case summary and approximate records volume. We'll confirm receipt and assign a matter number within one business day.

Every active matter is entered into our SOL tracking system at intake with three independent deadline calculations: the primary limitations period, the discovery rule tolling date (where applicable), and any jurisdiction-specific minority or incapacity tolling.

We treat SOL tracking as a joint responsibility — not a delegation. Your firm's docketing system remains the primary record; ours is a redundant failsafe.

We maintain active relationships with 340+ board-certified physician expertsacross 22 specialties. These are not cold-call relationships — we have worked with each expert on at least one prior matter and have their deposition transcripts on file.

We do not use expert-finder services. Every expert in our network has been personally vetted, deposed, and in most cases has testified at trial. We know how they perform under cross-examination before we retain them.

We prepare every case for trial. Settlement is a business decision made by the client; our job is to ensure the case is in the strongest possible trial posture so that settlement, when it happens, reflects full case value.

Defense firms and insurers know which co-counsel firms are genuinely trial-ready. Our trial record is the reason cases in our docket settle more reliably — and at higher values — than cases handled without specialized medical co-counsel.

Yes. Hospital risk managers and in-house counsel engage Counsel before litigation escalates — typically when an internal incident review has identified a potential liability exposure but no claim has been filed.

Engagements with risk management are handled under a separate engagement letter that clearly delineates the client (the hospital or health system) and the scope of the privileged relationship.

We provide a limited advisory service to insurance defense firms that need a credible plaintiff-side perspective to pressure fair settlements. This is not a conflict — it is an acknowledged, disclosed service with strict matter-separation protocols.

Defense advisory engagements are limited to cases where Counsel has no existing plaintiff-side involvement. A conflict check is run at intake against our full active docket. If a conflict exists, the engagement is declined.

All matter information is governed by joint defense privilege and our firm's data security protocols. We do not discuss active matters, client identities, or settlement figures outside of protected communications.

Our standard co-counsel agreement is a 6-page document covering: fee division, cost advancement, discovery protocols, client notification requirements, settlement authority, and termination provisions.

It is drafted to comply with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the specific bar rules of the jurisdiction where the matter is pending. We generate a jurisdiction-specific version for each engagement.

Download the sample agreement below. It is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute an engagement or create an attorney-client relationship.

We track outcomes across all closed matters and publish internal benchmarks annually. The figures below represent closed matters from 2021–2024.

We do not cherry-pick results. Cases that were declined at intake are not included in these figures. Cases that settled below demand are included. We can provide jurisdiction-specific or case-type-specific benchmarks on request.

Submit the intake form below. We ask for: referring attorney name and firm, case type, approximate case value, and a brief privileged case summary. No medical records are required at this stage.