Many years ago, a corporate client of mine told me what he called his "Lawyer's Prayer." It goes like this: "Lord, please protect me from my lawyer. I can handle the rest." Ha. Well, that was good. Makes me feel better, at least, that he had a number of other lawyers working for him.   

So, I got to thinking ... and I have expanded upon the concept. Thus, I came up with the "Expert's Prayer": "Lord, please protect me from my expert. I can handle the rest." Now, I have (and have had) lots of great experts through the years, but the point is ... you need a good lawyer to direct and manage the expert testimony in the case. There are many pitfalls in developing expert testimony in all types of cases, from the initial engagement through testimony. For instance, one thing that tends to escape many experts is how broad discovery is. So, when preparing a file it pays to prepare it truthfully in getting to a particular result, while realizing that the opposing side is ultimately going to see every piece of paper and every word in the expert's file. Your expert has got to do the right thing, appear to do the right thing, and do the foregoing persuasively.   

And here is yet another adaptation of the Lawyers' Prayer, that is, the Insurance Carrier prayer: "Lord, protect me from my carrier ... " You know the rest.  I see a lot of clients, both individuals and companies, who assume that the insurance carrier's interests are always just the same as theirs.  But this is often not the case.  A carrier's interest is in minimizing coverage, while the insured's is the opposite; carriers, too, often are oblivious to operational concerns of insureds or sensitive to business relationships impacted by the way a particular claim is handled. And, even when the carrier's interests are completely aligned with the insured, then an insured will want to know how a particular claim is being evaluated and handled; myriad mistakes abound by adjusters overwhelmed by claims and unable to focuse on the particualrs of each claim. Claims handling has a direct bearing on the insured's out-of-pocket via deductibles and increased premiums and loss ratios going forward. 

So ... pray for a lawyer ... the right lawyer ... to help you deal with the lawyers, experts, and carriers involved in the claims process.