According to Fulbright & Jaworski’s Second Annual Litigation Trends Survey (2005, at 10), of the large company’s matters that started trials, 40 percent went to verdict. In other words, 60 percent settled during the trial, which is obviously after the parties have climbed the courthouse steps.
A previous post (May 20, 2005) remarked on the speed up in spending just before trials start, and that burn rate undoubtedly accelerates during trial.
One often reads that “90 percent of cases settle,” but until reading this metric I had only thought of pre-trial settlements, not settlements during trial. I write corrected.