1. The law allows you to sue so you won't need to sue.  That sounds contradictory, but it is contradictory like the fact that Russia and the US have not gone to war because we would destroy each other.  A lawsuit is your atomic bomb.  For example, I worked as an expert witness on a job where there were numerous construction defects.  The insurance companies were stepping in and the main issue legally was who would pay for what.  The reason they were being so cooperative was if they weren't, the homeowner would certainly sue, and that would not be good.  So, the fact that the law gave the homeowner a club meant he didn't need to use it.
    
2. Lawsuits are expensive.  A good attorney is very expensive, and attorneys charge for every minute you speak to them.  If you are my client and you call me for a quick question, I generally won't bill you unless you do start to eat my time up every day.  If I call my attorney for a quick question, I expect a bill at the end of the month.  Add to the attorneys the expert witness fees, the legal assistants' rates, and the court costs. 
   
   The hours will be extensive.  You are going to pay for the hours eaten in depositions.  You will pay for the hours your attorney spends preparing the many different bits of legal paperwork, the time she spends on the phone to the opposing attorney, the time in court, the depositions...  Also, your time will be eaten up too, which is an added cost that could equal your legal bills or be even more.  For example, you will need to be at the depositions and court hearings, and you and your staff will be spending time gathering documents during discovery.  All the while your legal bills are going through the roof.  I must mention, a friend of mine brought a lawsuit and AFTER all the depositions and discovery happened saw his lawsuit dismissed.  A lot of money spent and nothing happened.  He was sure right until that moment that he was going to win. 
   
   If your target is insured, you can be sure the insurance company will run you through the ringer just to make it expensive for you and get a better settlement to make you go away.  I think a good number for suing someone is $100,000 or so, but it probably is higher.  Your attorney may want that in advance as a retainer.  I found as an expert witness that people don't pay their legal expenses when they lose, so it is generally customary for everyone to want their money up front to avoid that. 
   
   Just think if you went to Vegas with that money.  If you bet it all on red at the roulette wheel you are statistically going to get half of it back. Meanwhile you get free drinks, and with that amount of money will probably be comped rooms and meals too.  I'm just saying...
    
3. You will find an attorney that will tell you that you will win.  Almost all the clients I've worked with had attorneys that told them their case was a slam dunk, right up to the point they lost in court.  Maybe the first attorney you talk to may tell you that your case is hopeless, but if you call around you'll find someone that will tell you that you've got it nailed and you will win big.  You represent a couple hundred dollars an hour for saying "yes".
    
4. You can get counter-sued.  During my lawsuit, I realized this, and that scared me.  A friend of mine brought a lawsuit against an unethical competitor and he found himself the target of a nuisance suit over a matter that his insurance didn't cover.  I felt bad for my friend, but I have o admit, I thought it was an act of shear genius.  A lawsuit is a threat and people don't take threats very well.  A counter suit is also a very good tactic to make you go away.  In fact, it is one time when you really SHOULD bring a lawsuit.
    
5. It's emotionally draining.  When I brought my lawsuit, the defendant's attorney made me feel like a total scum.  Attorneys are good at that.  A good attorney can make you doubt the sun came up, they even do that repeatedly to me when I testify as an expert witness. Be prepared for the defendant's attorney to go after you every which way, and use every possible way he or she can think of to intimidate you legally.  They are usually good at that too.  It is what they are supposed to do.
    
6. You won't "teach someone a lesson".  In my lawsuit that was my exact thought, I was going to get even.  It was against a family member and all it did was make that person hate me even more.  The "lesson" that person learned was that I was a jerk. I learned that it could be really expensive to make someone really hate me. Maybe I should mention that the person that you are suing may be covered by insurance, so your "lesson" is going to be a lesson in inconvenience and maybe an increase in insurance rates.  You might scare them if it's the first time they've been sued, but a huge percentage of people in business get sued, so you probably won't achieve even that. Meanwhile you spent six figures and MAYBE got some of it back in a settlement. All those trite phrases about revenge end up being true.  If you have been wronged the real revenge is to let it go and move on with your life.  I wish I did.
    
7. Juries are unpredictable.  That's why a huge majority of lawsuits end in settlements, and you probably will too after the defense attorney puts you through hell.  When I was in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, one of our members sat on a jury.  A teenager lost his arm in a farming accident.  You would think the jury would award him a lot of money, losing his arm at a young age and all.  They gave him $12,000.  The reason?  They figured "he should have known farm work is dangerous".  I suspect the insurance company offered a lot more than that before it went to trial.

AVOIDING THE FASHION POLICE

George