The counterparty read as an opponent
Their history and conduct assessed for what a dispute would bring.
A pre-deal read of a counterparty's litigation history and posture, and the realistic risk they become your next dispute.
The single best predictor of whether a relationship becomes a dispute is the other party. Before a client commits, the firm reads the counterparty for litigation risk: their history of disputes, how they conduct themselves when one arises, and the realistic chance the client ends up across the table from them. It is a risk read that informs whether, and on what guard, to proceed.
The firm reads the counterparty the way it would read an opponent, because that may be what they become. It weighs the public record and the pattern of conduct, not a single data point, and it ties the read to the specific relationship in front of the client. It ends with a risk read, not a recommendation to deal or not deal, which is the client's commercial call.
Their history and conduct assessed for what a dispute would bring.
The exposure points this counterparty is most likely to test.
The dispute risk named; the commercial decision stays yours.
A client weighing a significant relationship asks for the counterparty to be read for dispute risk. The firm assesses the counterparty's public-record disputes and pattern of conduct, ties the risk to the specific relationship, and delivers a read the client uses to decide on what guard to proceed.
Described in abbreviated, anonymised form to preserve client confidentiality.
By reading their public-record disputes and their pattern of conduct in disputes, and tying that to the specific relationship, so the risk that they become your next dispute is read before you commit.
The counterparty's litigation history, how they behave when a dispute arises, the realistic chance the relationship becomes a dispute, and the exposure points they are most likely to test.
The public record of a company's disputes can be read and assessed, which, combined with its pattern of conduct, gives a realistic read of the dispute risk before a deal is signed.