Well, what do you know.

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I guess I'm back from my bloggy vacation. A few days ago, the Times' Bill Shaikin (who else?) reported that Frank McCourt has added famed trial lawyer Stephen Susman to his legal team. Susman, who says it was always the plan for him to take the lead on Frank's case if a trial became a likelihood, claims that "everyone" would like to see the case settle. 

The problem with that, of course, is that you don't really hire the Stephen Susmans and David Boieses of the world if you don't expect to go to trial. Unless, that is, these expensive lawyers are meant to frighten the other side into settling. Now that both Frank and Jamie have superstar trial litigators, though, such showmanship seems a little unnecessary. After running through Frank and Jamie's respective flotillas of attorneys, Am Law Daily provides a final nugget of interest, which I'll quote from Shaikin's piece:

Susman said he has teamed with Boies on occasion, including a current case in which the two are representing commercial fishermen harmed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Susman said he could recall facing Boies in two trials, with each lawyer winning one.

"This is the tiebreaker," Susman said.

We're slowly drawing toward a conclusion, as the trial is set to begin on August 30. As of now, I'm not inclined to believe this is destined for a quick or quiet settlement. The closer she pushes to trial--and the more noise she makes--the greater Jamie's leverage (and eventual windfall). For Frank, the value of settling the case peaked long ago, well before the bombs started going off around the organization. Simply put, Frank and Jamie's combined interest in settling is much less now than it might have been several months ago.

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Thanks to those who expressed support either by comments or emails. As I said, I don't intend in the least on stepping away. It's just been a hectic few weeks.

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