What is a civil litigation attorney?
A civil litigation attorney is someone who represents litigants and parties to civil lawsuits. You can think of there being two sides to the legal system. There’s the criminal system where the government brings criminal charges against individuals and companies. The civil system is where people and companies can bring cases against each other. In civil litigation you file a civil lawsuit usually seeking two things – money/financial compensation or specific performance. TLT Legal Services, PLLC is qualified to represent you in civil litigation in Virginia, Maryland, & Washington D.C.
Why hire a civil litigation lawyer?
People hire civil litigation attorneys because the civil justice system can be difficult to navigate. There are a lot of rules and deadlines you may not know about. For example, expert witness deadlines or rules about serving discovery and taking a deposition. If you miss a deadline or break a rule, you could lose your entire case. A civil litigation attorney will navigate this system for you and take a lot of stress away.
If you are up against a company in a civil lawsuit, it is likely that the company has lawyers. To make it a level playing field you should have a lawyer too.
You should consider hiring a civil litigation attorney if you’ve been wronged by another person and are trying to make things right. The longer you wait to hire an attorney, the more likely it is that valuable evidence may be lost. You may also miss important deadlines like a statute of limitations.
What will a civil litigation attorney do for you?
1. Pre-suit Investigation: Before suit is filed, your attorney will collect as much evidence as possible from you and other witnesses to make sure they understand everything they can about your claims and damages before suit is filed. Then, they’ll develop a litigation plan and retain any expert witnesses that will help to prove your case.
2. Pre-suit negotiations: Before suit is filed, your lawyer should see if they can resolve your dispute without filing a lawsuit.
3. Filing Suit: If a settlement agreement can’t be reached, or if your statute of limitations is approaching, your lawyer should draft and file a Complaint and any other court forms that go along with it.
4. Serving discovery: After the lawsuit is served, your case enters the discovery phase. The first type of discovery served is usually written discovery; Interrogatories, Request for Production of Documents, and Request for Admission of Facts. Your attoney will also issue any Subpoenas duces tecum (requesting documents from a non-Party) as appropriate.
5. Responding to Discovery: The defendant will then send written discovery to answer. You will work together with your attorney to fully and timely respond.
6. Depositions: In nearly every case the plaintiff and defendant will both be deposed. This is usually the only opportunity where the opposing party's counsel has a chance to ask you questions. Your attorney should also depose any other witness you may need information from.
7. Expert Designations: If any experts are to be called in your case, they need to be retained and their opinions in writing early enough that your representaiton can draft an expert designation by the deadline.
8. Motions & Hearings: There may be disputes within your litigation such as whether information needs to be disclosed, whether information is admissible at trial, or the defendant may try to dismiss your case on legal grounds. I write and respond to motions and, when necessary, argue them in-person in front of the judge.
9. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): All parties may agree that it's a good idea to try to resolve the dispute with mediation or arbitration. An experienced attorney will prepare you and posture your case to maximize your recovery while avoiding an expensive and time-consuming trial.
10. Trial: If ADR isn’t successful, then it's time for a jury to decide the case for you. Guided by the requirements and deadlines set out in the Scheduling Order, your attorney will prepare and try your case in front of a jury of your peers.