Mark Sidoti - Selecting the Best Lawyer

Selecting a lawyer, especially in the face of litigation, is an intimidating task for most business professionals. Experienced attorneys like Mark Sidoti understand this and will work with you when it is time to select counsel.

Before retaining a legal professional, you should conduct thorough research and speak with several lawyers to ensure that you will have the best attorney for your needs. Your first step can be to locate lawyers through referrals from others in your industry, or reputable rating organizations such as Martindale Hubbell, Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers, and to schedule consultations with several of your top picks.

During the vetting process with your potential lawyer, do not hesitate to mention that you are conducting interviews to help you decide which representation is best suited to your case. Take notes and ask specific questions that will allow you to compare each professional. Find out what experience the lawyer has in your specific type of legal matter at the outset of the interview. For example, if you require a commercial litigator, someone experienced like Mark Sidoti is obviously a better choice than an attorney with no commercial litigation experience.

Next, you should determine how long the lawyer has been in practice, what percentage of their caseload relates to your required subject, and their record of success. You should also discuss billing rates, how billing is structured, if the lawyer carries sufficient malpractice insurance and if there will be additional expenses or costs. Do research and compile other questions that directly relate to your case and ask those during your interviews as well.

After interviewing each candidate, select your lawyer based on all of the information provided, not simply billing rates or estimated fees. If done well, the interview process will help you find an attorney like Mark Sidoti, who is a top rated E-Discovery attorney in New York, NY, with decades of experience.

Mark Sidoti - E-Discovery for Beginners

Mark Sidoti is a top rated E-Discovery attorney in New York, NY. He devotes approximately 60% of his practice to e-discovery, or electronic discovery, practices and he delivers frequent lectures on the subject.

Though modern attorneys are becoming increasingly familiar with E-Discovery, attorneys practicing for a decade or more often have a different view of discovery and the production of documents. The task of producing documents is no longer as simple as collecting paper documents and delivering several banker boxes. The technologies that we use each day, and how computers and electronic devices store information, has completely transformed this once-straightforward task. Today, e-discovery has supplanted the production of paper documents. E-Discovery involves identifying, collecting, preserving, preparing, reviewing and producing electronically stored information, or ESI. E-discovery attorneys like Mark Sidoti work in this evolving field to provide counsel and aid when necessary.

ESI refers to relevant information stored on voice mail systems, laptops, computers, cellular phones, servers and any other hardware or data storage systems, regardless of the type of media and the original media format. ESI also includes emails, instant messages and text messages. If you become involved in litigation, or if you anticipate litigation, working with legal counsel experienced in e-discovery will help you secure the correct course of action. Your legal counsel will send you a litigation hold plan to help prevent relevant ESI records from being destroyed. Spoliation, or the loss or destruction of relevant ESI, can result in monetary sanctions, striking of pleadings and other severe court actions. Determining what ESI is relevant to your case and how to properly your maintain records is easiest with the aid of legal counsel like Mark Sidoti, who is well versed in the field of e-discovery.
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Mark Sidoti - About Mock Jurors

When attorneys such as Mark Sidoti prepare for a trial, they sometimes seek case feedback from mock jurors. The purpose of mock jurors is to provide a response from an audience that is similar to that which may sit as jury on the upcoming case.

Most commonly, attorneys access mock jury services through companies that connect them with mock jurors who are paid to review the case and to answer verdict questions. Attorneys receive feedback from up to 50 qualified mock jurors on average, and the comments that they receive allow them to identify common community perspectives, case weaknesses, case strengths, case value and potential case outcomes. Though the verdict answers from mock jurors are not typically as conclusive or informative as those from an in-person focus group, they can play an important role in high-stakes trials like the ones that Mark Sidoti has been involved with throughout his career.

Interested citizens have the option to become mock jurors through various companies that provide these services to attorneys. They must typically apply, provide personal information and then express interest in participation in upcoming online mock juries. Participants receive emails as new cases become available and they can choose whether or not they would like to participate in each jury.

Reviewing the case information can require at least an hour or two of time and, after answering verdict questions, the mock jurors are paid a small fee – typically ranging from $20 to $60 – for their services. The answers to verdict questions are then returned to attorneys like Mark Sidoti so that they can review how their cases were received and adjust their strategies as necessary.
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Mark Sidoti - What is Arbitration?

Arbitration is a common dispute resolution aided by legal professionals such as attorney Mark Sidoti. Arbitration is the determination of a dispute that is privately handled by a neutral third party. The hearings can involve the use of one or more arbitrators.

 
During these hearings, opposing parties relinquish a court’s deciding power, relying instead upon the arbitrators to determine how to best handle their dispute. Though arbitration is an alternative to litigation (court action), it typically is as legally binding.
Arbitration is handled as follows:

• Federal and state courts are not involved.
• Opposing parties should agree on how the dispute or disputes are resolved, excluding necessary safeguards for public interest.
• The goal of arbitration is fair resolution of the dispute or disputes by a neutral third party without unnecessary delay, expense or court intervention.
• Arbitrators are appointed directly by disputing the disputing parties, by the courts or by and arbitral organization that is selected by the disputing parties.
• Parties may hire attorneys like Mark Sidoti to aid them in the arbitration process.

State and federal law allow for provisions in civil practice regulations pertaining to arbitration. These provide procedure templates for basic arbitration, confirmation of the decision of the arbitrator (the arbitrators' award) and rules that give the arbitration effect of judgment. Some US states have individual arbitration laws to govern these procedures, but most states adhere to the Federal Arbitration Act to provide procedure templates. The three basic classifications of arbitration include labor arbitration, consumer arbitration, and the most common, commercial arbitration.

Mark Sidoti is most experienced with commercial arbitration and he has applied his e-discovery knowledge to business and commercial arbitration matters.
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