JustResolve.

Total Costs of Litigation Calculator

How much will litigating or arbitrating my dispute cost me — win or lose? Compare with Just Resolve.

Use this calculator to estimate your total costs of going all the way through trial or arbitration of any dispute involving financial stakes between $10,000 and $1,000,000, regardless whether you win or lose. Then compare with Just Resolve’s estimate. (You don’t need legal training to use this helpful tool. Just follow the scroll-over definitions along the way and do the best you can.)

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Process Questions

In what forumForum: For a number of reasons, preparing for and trying cases in court to juries takes the longest and costs the most. Court trials before a judge are streamlined by comparison. Arbitrations can be even more streamlined - partly because there usually is no right to appeal the decision - but the parties have to pay the arbitrator(s). will the dispute ultimately be resolved?*
How many differentDifferent: A party who is both a claimant and a defendant counts as only one. If two parties’ interests are so closely aligned that they likely would be represented by the same attorney, count them as only one. people or organizations will be named as either a claimant or defendant?*
How many different claimsClaims: A claim is a legal right to recover damages or other relief from someone. Examples include breach of contract, unfair competition, negligence, or other violation of a legal duty. seem likely?*
Are the main issuesIssues: An issue is a disputed question that must be answered to resolve the claim. Each claim will have one or more key issues. For example, key issues in a claim might be (1) whether a defendant breached a contract, (2) what damages were caused by that breach, and (3) defenses like whether the claimant or a third party also was partly responsible for the damages. in dispute fairly common or typical of disputes in your trade, industry or circumstances?*
Do you expect the parties to engage in mediation, non-binding arbitration, or some other facilitated, non-binding exercise in an effort to settle the dispute early"early" = after basic investigation and some depositions, but before expert opinions, trial preparation and trial?*

Evidence Questions

What is the number of important witnessesWitnesses: Each witness may testify only to facts about which he or she has first-hand knowledge, except that expert witnesses may testify to "opinions" within their areas of expertise. Do not count witnesses who essentially only duplicate other witnesses or would testify only briefly to undisputed or minor facts. who likely will testify?*
How many important documents and other records likely will be used as evidence at trial?*
For one or more parties, how intenseIntense: This is a practical measure of the likelihood that the emotional intensity or ego of at least one party or its attorney would drive up the overall time and costs needed to litigate a dispute. Because every party and attorney wants to win, even disputes that begin with little apparent emotion or animosity may intensify. do you believe the dispute is or will become?*
How many technology, industry and/or financial areas of expertExpert: Expert witnesses may testify to helpful facts and opinions that are not commonly known by most people, based on special education, training and/or experience. Do not count as areas of expert opinion the possible testimony from witnesses who have some expertise but who principally would testify to their first-hand involvement in events pertaining to the dispute. opinion testimony likely will be needed?*

Financial Questions

(If more than one attorney in a law firm will work on the case, you should estimate a blended or average rate.)

Hidden Costs

(One way to estimate this is to multiply days or hours diverted for each person likely to be involved by their compensation rate. People almost always underestimate lost productivity, which will exceed 80 hours even in the smallest disputes.)
(One way to estimate value is to consider what you would be willing to pay simply to avoid something or its risk.)
Is the dispute related to your:

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