Hiring a Lawyer · Haute Lawyer Network

How High-Net-Worth Clients Should Vet a Business Trial Lawyer

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Jurisdiction: United States (federal and ABA Model Rules; state rules vary)

To vet a business trial lawyer, check five things yourself rather than relying on a title or a referral:

License and discipline. Confirm the license is active and the discipline history is clean, through the state bar or court that licensed them.
Trial record. Ask for the cases they actually tried to verdict and check them on the court dockets.
Specialist claims. Ask any "certified" lawyer which body certified them.
Who the client is. Get it in writing who the lawyer represents, especially if a company, family office or relative is paying.
The engagement letter. Get the scope, fee basis and settlement-authority terms in writing.

Very few business disputes reach a verdict. One federal study found that roughly 1% of federal civil cases are resolved by trial. So real trial experience is scarce, and you should verify it rather than assume it. For firm-level questions (staffing, budget, firm size), see How to vet a business litigation firm. This page is general information, not legal advice.

At a glance

Check	What to ask for	Where to verify
License and discipline	Every state where they're licensed; any public discipline	The state bar or disciplinary agency of each state (lawyers are licensed state by state; there is no national license)
Trial record	Matters tried to verdict, their role (first or second chair), the court, the year, docket numbers	Federal dockets on PACER; state court dockets
Specialist claims	Which organization certified them, and what it required	The certifying body named on the lawyer's materials (ABA Model Rule 7.2(c) requires naming it)
Who the client is	Whether they represent you, your company, or both	The engagement letter (ABA Model Rules 1.13 and 1.7)
Who is paying	Whether a company, trust, family office or relative pays the fees	Written informed consent and confidentiality terms (Model Rule 1.8(f))
Fees and scope	Scope of work, fee basis, expenses, any fee split with another firm	The engagement letter (Model Rule 1.5)
Settlement authority	How offers will be reported, and confirmation that you decide	Model Rule 1.2(a): the client decides whether to settle
Privacy	How confidential business or family information will be protected in discovery and filings	Protective-order and sealing practice (e.g., Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c))

1. Hire for trial, not just litigation

"Litigator" and "trial lawyer" overlap but aren't the same. Most litigation work happens before trial: pleadings, discovery, motions and settlement. Fewer lawyers have taken many business cases all the way to a verdict. A 2017 Judicature article looked at federal court data. In 2016, about 1% of federal civil cases ended during or after trial (2,781 of 271,302 terminations), and jury trials accounted for roughly 0.7%. Contract cases made up 18% of those trials.

The practical point for a client with a lot at stake: if the other side believes your lawyer will actually try the case, that can shape the whole negotiation. So ask for the trial record specifically. Our explainer Litigator vs. trial attorney covers the distinction in more depth.

2. Verify the license and the discipline history yourself

According to the ABA, lawyers are licensed by the highest court of each state, there is no national license, and each state (not the ABA) disciplines lawyers. The ABA's consumer FAQ points to state directories of disciplinary agencies. It also notes that the ABA's National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank will confirm in writing, for a modest fee, whether a lawyer has been publicly disciplined.

For example, the Florida Bar's Find a Lawyer page shows a lawyer's status, attorney number and year admitted. It also posts a 10-year discipline history, and older records are available by email request. Check every state where the lawyer says they're licensed, not just your own. Federal courts have their own admissions, and some lawyers list them separately. For example, Glenn L. Udell's Haute Lawyer profile lists the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Seventh Circuit alongside his Illinois license.

3. Check the trial record on the dockets

Ask for a short list of business cases the lawyer tried to verdict or award. For each one, get:

their role (lead or supporting)
the court and year
the docket number
whether it was a jury trial, a bench trial or an arbitration hearing

Then look up the federal cases on PACER, the federal judiciary's electronic public-access service for federal court records. Use the relevant state court's docket for state cases. You're checking that the cases exist, that the lawyer appeared in them, and that they actually went to trial. You don't need to judge the outcome. Results depend on facts no outsider can see. A lawyer who won't give you any verifiable trial history is telling you something.

Our page Settlement vs. trial: how lawyers decide explains the judgment calls a trial lawyer should be able to talk you through.

4. Treat "certified" and "specialist" as claims to check

Under ABA Model Rule 7.2(c), a lawyer may not say or imply that they are a certified specialist unless:

a state-approved or ABA-accredited organization certified them, and
the lawyer clearly names that organization.

So if you see "board certified," ask by whom, then check with that body.

Certification is one signal, not a requirement for trying cases. Requirements vary by program. One example is the Florida Bar's certification in Business Litigation. Applicants need:

at least 5 years of practice, with at least 30% of their practice in business litigation during the prior 5 years
at least 25 contested business-litigation matters in that period, 8 of them submitted to the trier of fact (summary judgments don't count)
at least one business-litigation jury trial in the past 10 years (an approved advanced trial-advocacy course may substitute)
50 hours of CLE in 3 years
peer review and a written exam

Certification lasts no more than 5 years before recertification.

5. Settle "who is the client" before anything else

This is where high-net-worth matters most often get complicated:

Company vs. owner. Under Model Rule 1.13, a lawyer hired by an organization represents the organization, not its owners, directors or officers. When the company's interests may be adverse to yours, the lawyer must explain whom they represent. They can represent both you and the company only within the conflict rules (Model Rule 1.7). If you are a founder, controlling shareholder or family-business principal, ask whether you need your own counsel.
Someone else is paying. Families, trusts, family offices and companies often pay the legal bills of a relative or executive. Model Rule 1.8(f) allows that only if three things are true:
the client gives informed consent
the payer doesn't interfere with the lawyer's independent judgment or the lawyer-client relationship
the client's confidential information stays protected

Ask for those terms in writing, and agree up front what the payer will and won't be told.

Conflicts. Under Model Rule 1.7, a lawyer generally can't take a matter directly adverse to a current client, or one where their duties to others create a significant risk of limiting the representation. Some of these conflicts can be waived, but only with each affected client's informed consent, confirmed in writing. Give the firm a complete list for its conflict check:
every party, affiliate, lender, investor and key counterparty
your family entities
anyone else involved

6. Put the scope, fees and authority in writing

Scope and fee basis. Model Rule 1.5(b) requires the lawyer to tell you the scope of the work and the basis of the fee and expenses, "preferably in writing." Ask for it in writing.
Contingency. A contingent-fee agreement must be in a writing signed by the client (Rule 1.5(c)). It must explain how the fee is calculated and which expenses come out of any recovery.
Fee splits. If a referring or co-counsel firm will share the fee, Rule 1.5(e) sets conditions, including that you agree to the arrangement, including each lawyer's share, and that the agreement is confirmed in writing.
Settlement. Model Rule 1.2(a): "A lawyer shall abide by a client's decision whether to settle a matter." Agree how every offer will be reported to you, and who besides you (a board, a trustee, a family member) needs to be consulted.

For how fee structures work in business cases, see How to vet a business litigation firm and How much does a lawyer cost?.

Each state adopts its own binding version of these rules. The ABA Model Rules are a template, so check your state's version.

7. Ask how they'll protect your privacy

Court cases are largely public, and discovery can reach business and family financial information. Ask the lawyer how they plan to protect it.

In federal court, Rule 26(c) lets a judge issue a protective order "for good cause" to protect a party from "annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense." Such an order can:

require that "a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information not be revealed or be revealed only in a specified way"
seal depositions
have documents filed under seal

State courts have their own rules. A seasoned trial lawyer should be able to explain what will become public, and when.

Questions to ask in the first meeting

Which business cases have you tried to verdict or award in the last several years, and what was your role in each? Can you give me docket numbers?
Who would argue at trial, and who would handle depositions? Will that change if the case goes to trial?
In which states and federal courts are you admitted?
If you describe yourself as certified, which organization certified you?
Whom will you represent: me, my company, or both? What happens if our interests diverge?
If my company or family office pays, what will you share with them, and what stays confidential?
What does your conflict check cover, and is there anything you need to disclose now?
What exactly will the engagement letter cover, and how will expenses and any fee split be handled?
How will you report settlement offers, and how do you decide when to recommend trial over settlement?
What will become public in this case, and what can we protect?

Find a business trial lawyer

Find a Lawyer
Business/Commercial Litigation attorneys
Glenn L. Udell: partner at Brown, Udell, Pomerantz & Delrahim, Ltd. in Chicago.
His profile says he concentrates on real estate, corporate transactions and complex commercial litigation, and has argued in state and federal trial courts.
It lists admissions before the Illinois Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Tax Court.
Brian Hooper: Atlanta.
His profile describes him as a commercial litigator and appellate attorney combining trial and appellate experience.
It lists appellate, business, business/commercial litigation and private wealth practice, and says he advises private wealth clients such as family offices and foundations.
Admitted in Georgia.

Featured business litigation attorneys: Glenn L. Udell · Brian Hooper

Haute Lawyer membership is a paid editorial program; inclusion is not a ranking or recommendation. Use the checks above on any lawyer you consider, including those listed here.

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