
Quoting
Taxing Matters
My definition of the term doesn't matter. What I can tell you is that most of the personal injury lawyers in the cities in which I've lived and practiced enjoy trying cases and are happy to go to trial if the defendant — and his/her insurance company — won't agree to a reasonable settlement of the case. They know that if they can get more by going to trial its worth doing it not just because they like trying cases but also because the more they get the bigger their fee is because they take these cases on a contingent fee basis. So the more they get for the client, the more money they make. Sure, there are the firms out there that are settlement mills that rarely if ever go to trial and will only work up a settlement to the point that they get serious resistance from the insurer and then settle. They are not the majority of the firms out there in any place I've practiced, but I certainly don't deny they exist.
My point here is that the insurance company lawyers know which kind of lawyer they are facing if that lawyer has been in practice for any length of time. They don't need to wait until the eve of trial to know if that lawyer is one who is willing to take cases to trial or not. They don't need to wait until the eve of trial to make a good offer to a client represented by a good lawyer. Sure, there are some instances when, for one reason or another, one side changes its stance on the offer and raises or lowers it right before trial. But more often if a case is going to settle, it'll settle before the eve of trial. So if the OP does get a good offer — one that meets what he's looking for — well before trial he'll probably want to take that offer and get it over with. He won't always benefit by waiting until just before trial. Sometimes things do actually get worse by doing that.