Although every case differs, attorneys say that opting to settle will shave al least one-third, and frequently more, off the expense of a lawsuit. Attorneys" fees, insurance coverage and the risks of a jury' verdict often supersede the desire to prove who's right.

"If the difference is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, almost any sophisticated business litigator will say, "If the parties work hard, we should be able to settle this case,'" said Jeffrey Riffer, a partner of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP. "In the long run, it's economics."

The highest cost in trying a case is attorneys' tees. At $300 to $400 per hour, paying a lawyer can account for hundreds of thousands of dollars of an overall trial cost.

"The attorneys' costs are so huge today it's almost insane," said Joel Grossman, former deputy general counsel of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and now at ADR Services Inc., a private arbitration and mediation firm. "There's no way to intelligently litigate a case where there's less than a couple of hundred thousand dollars involved. It doesn't make any sense."
In divorce cases, emotional issues often cloud decisions about settling. But once the dust has settled, taking the case to trial often proves too costly even for the wealthiest of clients.

Manley Freid, a partner at Freid & Goldsman who has represented both the wage-earner and the spouse seeking support in divorces. said he often convinces the paying spouse to settle because it makes more financial sense.

"I'll say to the husband, it'll take you $10,000 to $30,000 (to settle)," he said. "She gets one bite of the apple. You replenish your war chest of savings, and in six to 12 months. you won't feel it remember it. You want to get this over with, get rid of the emotions, pay the extra bucks and move on."

The fees increase as attorneys get beyond a case's initial filings and begin preparing more time-intensive motions, such as discovery requests or a summary judgment that may cost $20,000 each based on an attorney's hourly rate, said Connie Michaels, an employment partner at Littler Mendelson PC. Once a client has invested $1,500 into a motion, he is more likely to take the case forward, she said.