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BLOG / 03.30.17 /Jack Malley

Civil Litigation Cases 101

When it comes to civil litigation cases, are you up to date? A civil litigation is the result of two or more parties that are involved in a legal dispute and are seeking something other than criminal sanctions, such as money. In these types of cases, they must be tried in a courtroom and a judge or jury will weigh in on the matter and ultimately decide the result. Read on to find out more about these types of cases.

Civil litigation cases are specialized in by civil litigation attorneys. A civil litigation attorney is also known as a trial lawyer and will represent clients in many types of proceedings including depositions and pretrial hearings. They may also represent clients during processes like mediation or arbitration, where the goal is to have both parties reach a settlement so that they do not have to deal with going to court.

These cases and the litigation can be about many subjects and areas, so litigators frequently specialize in one or more areas. These could include personal injury claims, intellectual property disputes, environmental law, workers’ compensation claims, product liability disputes, landlord and tenant disputes, education law disputes, divorce suits, workers’ compensation claims, and more. The litigation essentially deals with cases that do not involve criminal charges or penalties.

The litigator have many responsibilities. First and foremost is to represent their client and fight on their behalf. They must be comfortable with conflict and fighting against the opposition. They must work to get the best possible outcome for this client and do everything they can to fight for their client. It can be a tough job, demanding a lot from individuals in the field. They frequently work long hours and put a lot of energy into their cases. Litigators have the weight of getting their client the result they need.

You must also have certain skills and a background of knowledge in the field (including experience from cases) to be a great litigator. These attorneys must have logical and analytical reasoning abilities, interpersonal skills, intelligence, knowledge of procedural/substantive law, know how to research, work with clients, negotiate, and argue a case successfully in order to benefit their client.

What goes on during civil litigation? There are several stages to any case. These include investigation, the pleadings, and later on discovery, pretrial, settlement/trial, and possibly appeal. The longest stage is discovery, which takes far more time than trials in most cases because so much effort is put into getting information that is relevant to the case (along with the necessary subpoenas, depositions, and interrogatories). Subpoenas may help get documents or information, while the depositions and interrogatories involve getting information through questioning under threat of perjury. Questions are posed orally in depositions, whereas the interrogatories involve written questions.

While many suits go through every stages, many are settled before even seeing the light of a courtroom. Parties may even decide to settle during a trial, where they can settle some aspects of the suit. Cases that do go to trial can be months or years. If you are going to be involved in a civil litigation case, be sure to have a reliable litigation attorney on your side because it will make a difference.