In the dramatic courtroom thriller “A Few Good Men,” two Marines are charged with killing a fellow soldier, Private William Santiago. An inexperienced U.S. Navy lawyer, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise), is assigned their defense. At first, Lt. Kaffee wants to arrange a plea bargain for his clients, but he ends up going to trial when he suspects that it was their commanding officer, Colonel Nathan Jessep (played by Jack Nicholson), who authorized the killing of Private Santiago. As he prepares for trial, Lt. Kaffee interviews Col. Jessep and asks him if he ordered a “Code Red” in violation of military rules. Col. Jessep resents this line of questioning and replies: “You want to investigate me, roll the dice and take your chances.” This exchange between Lt. Kaffee and Col. Jessep illustrates an important aspect of litigation: going to trial can often be uncertain and risky. We will explore why litigation is so risky in a future post.