When we think of litigation law, one of the first things that come to mind is a plaintiff suing someone else for some injury or loss. It may also involve people filing lawsuits against companies that are manufacturing defective products. However, this type of law often encompasses a wide variety of other issues as well. Indeed, most litigated matters never get to the inside of an actual courtroom.
What is litigation law?
Most individuals who are faced with litigation law do not understand what it is all about. They may think that it simply involves a person taking another person’s property and demanding money from them in return. While this is certainly one of the possible outcomes, there are many others. For example, a person files a wrongful death lawsuit after a loved one dies; this could be a result of medical negligence or some other situation.
The next example is where a party brings a legal dispute to try and get compensation for the emotional trauma that has occurred. Anytime that a party files a legal dispute, it is also called a lawsuit. The goal of the litigation law in this example is to seek damages for lost wages, medical bills, loss of companionship, and more.
Goals of litigation law
One of the main goals of litigation law is to make sure that the legal system is fair. There are many different types of lawsuits that can be brought forth. Some of these include slander, libel, malicious prosecution, discrimination, or even civil cases of wrongful prosecution. All of these are attempts to have a person (or entities) brought to justice for whatever alleged actions took place. For this to happen, there must be a strong legal system in place. This ensures that all complaints are fairly dealt with and that justice is served.
Discovery
Discovery is one of the key components of the litigation process. Discovery is when a party requests information from another party. This can include anything from depositions to emails or text messages. Because discovery is extremely important, lawyers on both sides of civil cases will spend plenty of time together doing discovery.
For discovery to be successful, attorneys must follow all guidelines that have been set forth by the courts. Often, attorneys will only allow discovery into the case if the plaintiff has already filed their lawsuit. Other times, however, they will allow discovery even if the lawsuit has not been filed yet.
When determining if discovery is allowed, an attorney may consider several things:
- They will consider how likely the client was to prevail.
- They will consider how costly the discovery would be, especially considering how much money the opposing attorney will spend to get the case to court.
- An attorney will consider the strength of the complaint and counter-claims and whether the plaintiff has a strong case for the claims that they wish to pursue.
Litigation lawyers are there to make sure that both the plaintiff and defendant get their day in court. If either party feels that the case does not have enough evidence to prove their claim, an attorney can research the facts to present the best case for their client. While many cases can settle out of court, some will go to trial, where an attorney’s skill and experience come in.
Talking about legal teams
Many businesses have their legal teams. Some, like patent offices, have their private litigation process. The litigation process starts with the discovery, which consists of turning over any documents, letters, or records that can be used as evidence in the case. In some cases, witnesses are called to testify about what they saw at a conference. In other instances, experts will make reports as to a situation’s impact.
Once discovery is complete, a party is allowed to dispute the discovery. If the dispute involves how much, if anything, was learned from the conference call, an attorney representing the party can request a jury trial. An attorney usually represents one side, while a litigation process server represents the other in litigation. The litigation process then moves toward trial, typically a two-way process where neither party can make a single counter-claim or claim.
