Transcending Disciplines: What Every Transactional Lawyer Should Know About Litigation

In many large law firms, transactional lawyers and litigators are divided, herded into separate groups on separate floors in separate offices. But they are often divided by more than just office location. Litigators and transactional attorneys have significantly different practices. Thus, transactional lawyers often do not have an opportunity to learn about some aspects of litigation that could prove helpful in their practices. Yet it is often the transactional attorney that has the first, and perhaps best, opportunity to take steps that protect the client’s litigation position. Accordingly, it is important that transactional attorneys familiarize themselves with certain basic litigation concepts so that they will be equipped to take advantage of these opportunities. This paper addresses certain key concepts that should prove useful to a broad range of transactional attorneys, including: litigation holds, “No Oral Modification” clauses, reliance disclaimers, and arbitration clauses.