Jill Erickson

About Jill

What legal issues do your clients typically face?

What skills help you advise the client and achieve the best results or outcomes?

Listening, problem-solving, and collaboration help me advise clients effectively to create a personalized solution to their situation. Most people contact a lawyer when they are faced with a problem. To effectively navigate a situation, it is crucial to listen to how the clients feel about their case and to understand what they want to achieve right from the start. In other words, it is important to understand how clients define their win. Sometimes, an early resolution may be their goal, but other times, they may prefer to defend a case with vigorous advocacy, including litigation and possibly trial. My role is to counsel them about risks and rewards, give them real advice about achievable results, and then guide them through the process.

What case did you find the most rewarding to work on?

One of my most rewarding cases to work on involved an emergency room physician who had recently retired and was sued for an alleged failure to diagnose cancer. This case was the physician’s first experience with litigation. After meeting with him, understanding that he did not want to step into a courtroom or be deposed, and then learning about the medical issues in the case, we were able to win the case on motion practice by thoroughly working up, presenting, and briefing a successful causation defense. Our client was never deposed nor did he ever set foot in a courtroom. It was probably the most rigorous advocacy, outside of actual trial, that I undertook, but this physician’s gratitude eclipsed the successful results. I’ll never forget delivering the news that the case was done. It was a win-win situation.