The National Law Journal has named Houston partner, Brian Melton, among the 20 “Winning Litigators” for 2017.
This annual National Law Journal List describes the honorees as all having won big victories for their clients in high stakes cases in 2017. A common thread among these litigators is their shared belief in the importance of preparation coupled with their ability to fine-tune their themes, deliver effective witness examinations, and ultimately, win.
In recognizing Melton, the National Law Journal focused on his $20 million judgement against Cigna in 2016 on behalf of a small, physician-owned hospital in Connecticut Gen. Life Ins. Co. and CIGNA Health and Life Ins. Co. v. Humble Surgical Hosp. The article described Melton’s winning strategy of becoming an expert at Cigna’s trial tactics from previous, related cases and using that knowledge to make critical pretrial decisions to best prepare himself and his team.
The profile goes on to describe Melton’s tips for succeeding at trial which include preparing as much as possible with tools such as mock-trials, run-throughs of openings and closings, and thoroughly analyzing witness examinations as well as being able to delegate and monitor without micromanaging.
The full write-up for Melton can be found here (subscription required).
