b'LEGALLY SPEAKINGHOW TO PROTECT YOUR ASSETS By: Larry Oxenham, American Society for Asset ProtectionOne of the keys to learning how to protect your business and personal assets fromlawsuitsistounderstandhowlawsuitswork.Theproceedingsofa lawsuit can be broken into six simple steps.Step 1. Injury or Losswill search for a deep-pocketed defendant and a The beginning of a lawsuit is an injury or loss oftheory of liability that can be developed against some kind.him or her, showing why that defendant should be Step 2. Find a Defendant(s) Who Can Payheld responsible. The success of the trial attorney is dependent upon this. Trial attorneys make up Most lawsuits are done on a contingency basis,one of the largest lobbyist groups in the country so one of the first things an attorney does beforeand have created laws to increase the level of accepting a case is to perform an asset search to seevicarious liability. Vicarious liability means you can if the defendant would be worth pursuing. Attorneysbe held responsible for the actions of others. Trial search for a candidate with substantial personalattorneys have worked hard to ensure that whoever and business assets available for seizure and/orhas the money can be held responsible for negative significant insurance coverage. All too often, peopleoutcomes through vicarious liability, even if they are named as defendants in a lawsuit because ofcommitted no wrong. their ability to pay, not because of fault or error. Step 4. TrialStep 3. Construct a Theory of Liability Every day we see trial attorneys winning cases If the person immediately responsible for the loss orthat appear to be irrational, absurd, and without injury does not have the ability to pay, the attorneymerit. Many attorneys will even pursue a bad case 16 www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer'