Civil Litigation
Image by Kittisak
Civil litigation is the process of resolving a legal dispute between two or more parties that seek money damages, or specific performance, rather than criminal sanctions. A lawyer who handles civil litigation is known as a “litigator” or “trial lawyer.” Lawyers who practice civil litigation represent parties in trials, hearings, arbitrations and mediations before federal, state and local courts. There are four general states to the litigation process including Pleading, Discovery, Motions, and Trial.
The Pleading stage involves filing the complaint which initiates the case in court. The filing party is called the Plaintiff and the defending party is called the Defendant. There can be multiple plaintiffs and multiple defendants. After the complaint is filed, the defendant has the opportunity to file an Answer. After the initial pleadings have been filed, the case enters the Discovery stage.
Discovery refers to the stage in the law suit during which the parties learn about each other's claims and defenses, what evidence each side has to support their side of the case, and what witnesses each side plans to call at trial. Questions of the other side can be done orally through a deposition. A deposition is the process of giving sworn, out-of-court, testimony in front of a court reporter. The transcript of the deposition can be used as evidence at the trial. Questions can also be posed in writing called interrogatories, request for production of documents, and request for admissions. The Judge assigned to your case will provide deadlines by which discovery must be completed.
After the discovery state has ended, the case enters into the Motion stage. Either the plaintiff or the defendant may file motions making legal arguments in an attempt to resolve some or all of the legal claims before the case is presented at trial.
The final phase of litigation is the Trial. The plaintiff can choose whether the issues in the case will be tried to a jury or a judge. Many times, the Judge assigned to your case will either encourage or order the parties to mediation in an attempt to resolve the issues before trial.
The Pleading stage involves filing the complaint which initiates the case in court. The filing party is called the Plaintiff and the defending party is called the Defendant. There can be multiple plaintiffs and multiple defendants. After the complaint is filed, the defendant has the opportunity to file an Answer. After the initial pleadings have been filed, the case enters the Discovery stage.
Discovery refers to the stage in the law suit during which the parties learn about each other's claims and defenses, what evidence each side has to support their side of the case, and what witnesses each side plans to call at trial. Questions of the other side can be done orally through a deposition. A deposition is the process of giving sworn, out-of-court, testimony in front of a court reporter. The transcript of the deposition can be used as evidence at the trial. Questions can also be posed in writing called interrogatories, request for production of documents, and request for admissions. The Judge assigned to your case will provide deadlines by which discovery must be completed.
After the discovery state has ended, the case enters into the Motion stage. Either the plaintiff or the defendant may file motions making legal arguments in an attempt to resolve some or all of the legal claims before the case is presented at trial.
The final phase of litigation is the Trial. The plaintiff can choose whether the issues in the case will be tried to a jury or a judge. Many times, the Judge assigned to your case will either encourage or order the parties to mediation in an attempt to resolve the issues before trial.