Why RHLO

Our experience practicing subrogation law has given us a clear understanding of what it takes to develop a legal case against a liable third party and, just as importantly, how to develop the case. There is no substitute for the real-world, day-in-and-out work of attending scene and lab exams, deposing adverse expert witnesses, and trying subrogation cases to juries.

Subrogation attorneys must have knowledge of the law that applies to subrogation claims. These areas of law include product liability, the Uniform Commercial Code, contract, warranty, negligence, and numerous standard of care codes, such as the Uniform and International Dwelling Codes and National Gas Code (NFPA 54). We understand how these laws and codes apply, and we litigate these issues every day. Our clients benefit from our knowledge of these laws and codes, and we ensure that every possible claim the law allows is analyzed and asserted.

Because subrogation is the firm’s sole practice area, we have developed relationships with consultants and experts, such as fire investigators, forensic engineers and standard of care experts. Our relationships allow us to retain the right — and the best — experts for each case. We rely on our experts to provide opinions regarding the cause of a loss which will stand up in court, or alternatively, let us know when we do not have a factual basis to proceed.

At RHLO, we hold ourselves to the highest standard of client service. Our clients experience our service in the following ways:

• We are available 24/7. When a new loss occurs, starting the investigation and preserving evidence cannot wait until Monday morning. When our clients need us, we will respond.
• We are responsive. We acknowledge new assignments promptly. We present our clients with an initial analysis, and with client approval, we will retain experts immediately so that we can put on notice all interested parties and minimize delay in the restoration of the damaged property.
• We communicate. We work closely with our clients to analyze claims for subrogation potential, and to develop file action plans. We update our clients regularly and make sure cases are moving forward, staying on track and within cost estimates.
• We measure results. We carefully track the recoveries that we obtain for our clients, including both gross and net recoveries. This allows us to provide objective data with which our performance can be measured.

We understand that what matters is not how much the liable party pays, but rather how much our clients recover. We realize that every dollar paid for experts, litigation costs and attorney fees reduces our clients’ recoveries. That is why we take unique approaches to minimizing costs and fees:

• We complete an estimate of costs that the client will incur, and we give the client options on how to minimize those costs. We update this estimate prior to filing suit, and we always get authority from the client before incurring costs.
• We retain efficient and effective experts, and make cost-saving recommendations to our clients so that they can benefit from our experience.
• We want to be part of the solution, not a cost to be avoided. That is why our fees are always contingent upon recovery. We never bill hourly for initial reviews or investigative work. And the best news: because we are efficient and competent, our contingent fee is substantially lower than what most law firms charge.