Civil Litigation
Demand Letters, Lawsuits, & Trials
Defining Litigation
Litigation is the process of resolving a legal dispute between two or more parties. The involved parties are either enforcing or defending the legal rights they believe they possess. To call litigation a practice area may be a misnomer; it is more of a process than a topic. For example, a healthcare dispute, a real property dispute, and an automobile accident may all be resolved through litigation even though they involve distinctly separate subject matters. No matter the subject matter of the dispute, litigation typically involves the filing of a lawsuit in a state or federal court, although neither of these things are necessarily true. Litigation can occur before several different tribunals for several different reasons. For every dispute, a strong command of the rules and laws governing litigation, intimate familiarity with the subject matter of litigation, and experience with disputes is critical in handling pieces of litigation effectively. Our strong background in litigation enables us to skillfully protect our clients’ interests.
Forms & Areas of Litigation
Litigation can take many forms. Standard litigation involves pursuing or defending a dispute before a tribunal. Often, the tribunal is a state or federal court, and plaintiffs may seek monetary damages, injunctive relief, or a declaration of the rights and obligations of the parties. However, the tribunal of litigation and the nature of the relief sought depend on one’s goals and legal rights. For example, business owners litigating a contract dispute may be limited to arbitration due to the contract’s language. E-commerce entities desiring transfer or cancellation of a domain name may initiate a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Proceeding (UDRP) before an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Approved Provider. Trademark owners may initiate trademark infringement litigation against federal trademark applicants in a state or federal court, or they may simply choose to contest applicants’ entitlements to trademark registration by initiating an opposition before the USPTO’s Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (a specialized lawsuit aimed solely at preventing a trademark from registering). Different tribunals may overlap in offering a litigant remedies arising from a dispute. Choosing where to maintain litigation is an important component of a successful litigation strategy.
The Process of Litigation
Litigation is usually a multi-phase process that can take a few weeks to several years depending on the tribunal. The phases of litigation generally include pre-litigation, initiation and discovery, and trial and post-trial.
Pre-litigation
Pre-litigation often involves negotiations between parties aimed at resolving a dispute without seeking a tribunal’s intervention. It is the stage at which cease and desist and demand letters are exchanged, and it may also involve mediation initiated before a complaint’s filing. This step strikes at an oft neglected but vitally important goal: avoidance. Amicably resolving a dispute is always in the parties’ best interests. First, amicable resolution usually saves the parties vital resources in the way of time, attorneys’ fees, costs, and mental focus. Second, amicable resolution avoids the vagaries of a tribunal’s intervention. Involving a court may result in all parties losing on issues that are important to them. Appreciating the importance of pre-litigation and the virtues of avoidance is perhaps the most vital part of any dispute resolution process.
Initiation & Discovery
Initiation and discovery include filing a lawsuit and investigating the accusations and defenses of the involved parties. This is where the greatest amount of time in litigation occurs. It is where critical issues that frame the merits of the case are raised and resolved. Some of those issues include whether one can be sued in a particular state, whether the relief sought in a complaint is permissible, and whether the correct party has been sued. But all of these issues are building blocks to the ultimate issue: whether the defendant is liable for the conduct described in the complaint. To determine all of these things, the parties use a process called discovery. Discovery is the exchange of information between the parties. Sometimes, the parties are required to exchange information by law. Most of the time, though, it is up to each party and their attorneys to request information to support their case or defense. The parties may exchange written interrogatories, request depositions of each others’ officials, and require them to admit to certain facts. The exchange of discovery is extremely important: it is where each party acquires the evidence supporting its case. As one may imagine, whether a party is required to disclose information, and even the form of that disclosure (PDFs of emails versus electronically stored information (ESI) and its metadata), is another issue the parties often work through during this phase. Issues of discovery are often hotly contested.
Trial & Post-trial
This is where a lawsuit gets resolved, for better or for worse. It is where jury trial and bench trials (before a judge) occur. It is where evidence is presented, where objections are made, where witnesses are examined, and where closing arguments are made. However, a verdict at trial is not the end of the journey. First, the losing party may decide to appeal certain issues to a higher authority. The appeals process can involve multiple levels of court intervention and can result in additional litigation at the trial court level. Appellate review and the subsequent trial court actions it may necessitate may also substantially prolong a lawsuit. Second, a party that achieves a favorable ruling at trial must then confront the task of enforcement. A $1 million verdict against a defendant with assets of an unknown amount and location may be useless. At that point, a new task of recovering or collecting on a judgment begins. Litigants, and even some attorneys, take this nuance for granted.
How We Litigate
We understand all phases of litigation. Our background is dispute resolution through litigation. We have a keen understanding of the process and the legal precedents that direct it. Importantly, we have meaningful experience resolving disputes at the pre-litigation phase. Our success in representing our clients effectively arises from our broad knowledge of a variety of practice areas important to our clients and our thorough, early analysis of the key issues in dispute. Engage us early. We will work to enforce your rights and protect your interests.
Defining Litigation
Litigation is the process of resolving a legal dispute between two or more parties. The involved parties are either enforcing or defending the legal rights they believe they possess. To call litigation a practice area may be a misnomer; it is more of a process than a topic. For example, a healthcare dispute, a real property dispute, and an automobile accident may all be resolved through litigation even though they involve distinctly separate subject matters. No matter the subject matter of the dispute, litigation typically involves the filing of a lawsuit in a state or federal court, although neither of these things are necessarily true. Litigation can occur before several different tribunals for several different reasons. For every dispute, a strong command of the rules and laws governing litigation, intimate familiarity with the subject matter of litigation, and experience with disputes is critical in handling pieces of litigation effectively. Our strong background in litigation enables us to skillfully protect our clients’ interests.
Forms & Areas of Litigation
Litigation can take many forms. Standard litigation involves pursuing or defending a dispute before a tribunal. Often, the tribunal is a state or federal court, and plaintiffs may seek monetary damages, injunctive relief, or a declaration of the rights and obligations of the parties. However, the tribunal of litigation and the nature of the relief sought depend on one’s goals and legal rights. For example, business owners litigating a contract dispute may be limited to arbitration due to the contract’s language. E-commerce entities desiring transfer or cancellation of a domain name may initiate a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Proceeding (UDRP) before an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Approved Provider. Trademark owners may initiate trademark infringement litigation against federal trademark applicants in a state or federal court, or they may simply choose to contest applicants’ entitlements to trademark registration by initiating an opposition before the USPTO’s Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (a specialized lawsuit aimed solely at preventing a trademark from registering). Different tribunals may overlap in offering a litigant remedies arising from a dispute. Choosing where to maintain litigation is an important component of a successful litigation strategy.
The Process of Litigation
Litigation is usually a multi-phase process that can take a few weeks to several years depending on the tribunal. The phases of litigation generally include pre-litigation, initiation and discovery, and trial and post-trial.
Pre-litigation
Pre-litigation often involves negotiations between parties aimed at resolving a dispute without seeking a tribunal’s intervention. It is the stage at which cease and desist and demand letters are exchanged, and it may also involve mediation initiated before a complaint’s filing. This step strikes at an oft neglected but vitally important goal: avoidance. Amicably resolving a dispute is always in the parties’ best interests. First, amicable resolution usually saves the parties vital resources in the way of time, attorneys’ fees, costs, and mental focus. Second, amicable resolution avoids the vagaries of a tribunal’s intervention. Involving a court may result in all parties losing on issues that are important to them. Appreciating the importance of pre-litigation and the virtues of avoidance is perhaps the most vital part of any dispute resolution process.
Initiation & Discovery
Initiation and discovery include filing a lawsuit and investigating the accusations and defenses of the involved parties. This is where the greatest amount of time in litigation occurs. It is where critical issues that frame the merits of the case are raised and resolved. Some of those issues include whether one can be sued in a particular state, whether the relief sought in a complaint is permissible, and whether the correct party has been sued. But all of these issues are building blocks to the ultimate issue: whether the defendant is liable for the conduct described in the complaint. To determine all of these things, the parties use a process called discovery. Discovery is the exchange of information between the parties. Sometimes, the parties are required to exchange information by law. Most of the time, though, it is up to each party and their attorneys to request information to support their case or defense. The parties may exchange written interrogatories, request depositions of each others’ officials, and require them to admit to certain facts. The exchange of discovery is extremely important: it is where each party acquires the evidence supporting its case. As one may imagine, whether a party is required to disclose information, and even the form of that disclosure (PDFs of emails versus electronically stored information (ESI) and its metadata), is another issue the parties often work through during this phase. Issues of discovery are often hotly contested.
Trial & Post-trial
This is where a lawsuit gets resolved, for better or for worse. It is where jury trial and bench trials (before a judge) occur. It is where evidence is presented, where objections are made, where witnesses are examined, and where closing arguments are made. However, a verdict at trial is not the end of the journey. First, the losing party may decide to appeal certain issues to a higher authority. The appeals process can involve multiple levels of court intervention and can result in additional litigation at the trial court level. Appellate review and the subsequent trial court actions it may necessitate may also substantially prolong a lawsuit. Second, a party that achieves a favorable ruling at trial must then confront the task of enforcement. A $1 million verdict against a defendant with assets of an unknown amount and location may be useless. At that point, a new task of recovering or collecting on a judgment begins. Litigants, and even some attorneys, take this nuance for granted.
How We Litigate
We understand all phases of litigation. Our background is dispute resolution through litigation. We have a keen understanding of the process and the legal precedents that direct it. Importantly, we have meaningful experience resolving disputes at the pre-litigation phase. Our success in representing our clients effectively arises from our broad knowledge of a variety of practice areas important to our clients and our thorough, early analysis of the key issues in dispute. Engage us early. We will work to enforce your rights and protect your interests.