Introduction to Civil Litigation

What Is Civil Litigation? When two or more parties become embroiled in a

legal dispute seeking money or another specific performance rather than
criminal sanctions, civil litigation is the result. They must instead head to
the courtroom for trial so a judge or jury can decide the matter.

A lawyer who specializes in civil litigation is known as a “litigator” or a

“trial lawyer.” He represents clients across a broad spectrum of associated
proceedings, including pretrial hearings and depositions, as well as
arbitration or mediation before administrative agencies or court
personnel. Arbitration and mediation are processes that attempt to guide
the parties toward settlement without the time and expense of going to
court.

Types of Civil Litigation

Civil litigation encompasses a broad range of disputes, and litigators

generally specialize in one or two specific practice areas. Several common
areas include:

 Environmental law
 Landlord/tenant disputes
 Product liability lawsuits
 Personal injury claims
 Intellectual property disputes
 Construction liability lawsuits
 Medical malpractice claims
 Employment and labor disputes
 Real estate lawsuits
 Anti-trust litigation
 Workers' compensation claims
 Education law disputes
 Divorce lawsuits

Civil litigation can be loosely defined as a legal process in which criminal

charges and penalties are not at issue.

The Role of a Civil Litigation Lawyer

The role and responsibilities of a civil litigation attorney can be challenging
and diverse. It is an adversarial process with two or more parties pitted
against each other. The attorney is his client's advocate, obligated to fight
for him to achieve the best possible outcome on the client's behalf.
Lawyers specializing in this field must be willing to assume oppositional
positions, to embrace conflict and controversy, and to effectively act as
human pit bulls in defense of their clients. Attorneys andlitigation
paralegals in this field often work long hours, especially during a trial.

Certain skills and knowledge are essential to litigation practice. Key legal
skills include:

 Knowledge of substantive and procedural law

 Strong written and oral advocacy skills
 Analytical and logical reasoning abilities
 Ability to synthesize complex legal and factual materials
 Superior interpersonal skills
 Knowledge of legal research techniques and software
 Client development skills
 Negotiation skills

The Life Cycle of a Typical Civil Litigation Case

Civil litigation can be divided into several stages, including investigation,

pleadings, discovery, pretrial proceedings, potential settlement or trial,
and even appeal. Discovery is typically the longest and most labor-
intensive stage of a case. Unlike the way they're often portrayed on
television, civil attorneys spend comparatively little time in the trial.

Much of their time is devoted to the discovery stage -- the exchange of

information pertinent to the case through depositions, interrogatories,
and subpoenas. The latter are demands for information or documents
from third parties. Depositions and interrogatories involve questions
posed under penalty of perjury to the parties in a lawsuit. Deposition
questions are posed orally under oath. Interrogatories are written
questions.

Not every lawsuit passes through each stage -- in fact, most don't. The
majority of lawsuits are settled by agreement of the parties and never
reach the courtroom. Parties can settle during a trial, even after a jury has
begun deliberating or has delivered a verdict. They can settle or "stipulate"
to some aspects of the lawsuit, leaving others in the hands of the judge or
jury.

When a case does go all the way to trial, the entire process, from filing
documents with the court to initiate the case through resolution, can take
anywhere from a few months to several years.

 Civil litigation is a term used to describe the legal process applied to non-
criminal matters. Civil litigation is thus the filing and subsequent
application of a civil lawsuit; civil litigation is incorporated into a non-
criminal dispute to help produce a resolution. Civil litigation will aim to
resolve such disputes as, family law disputes, court custody cases,
matters involving child support payments, disputes between individuals
and credit card companies, disputes involving landlord and tenants, as
well as situations that involve a breach of contract.
Civil litigation is the process of resolving a legal dispute between two or more
parties (individuals or business entities) who seek compensation (in the form of
money) for damages incurred or specific performances that were not delivered.
Lawyers or legal professionals who specialize in civil litigation are known as
‘litigators’; legal professionals who practice civil litigation will represent a party
in a trial, a hearing, or a form of alternative resolution method, such as
arbitrations or mediations—these forms of hearings are heard by administrative
agencies, foreign tribunals and federal, state, or local court systems.

Types of Civil Litigation:

Civil litigation will encompass a broad range of disputes that will directly enact a
number of legal matters. As a result of this widespread characteristic, a civil
litigator will typically specialize in a specific practice area. The most common
types of civil litigation will include: disputes and laws that encompass landlords
and tenants, environmental law, products liability, intellectual property disputes,
construction, medical malpractice, employment and labor issues, anti-trust laws,
real estate, worker’s compensation, and education law.

Civil Litigation Professionals:

The primary role of a civil litigation professional (i.e. an attorney) is to assume
the dispute and oppositional position faced by their hired party. As a result of
this, the civil litigation professional must possess a firm knowledge of the legal
matter in question and must fully understand the principles and intricacies of the
underlying dispute.
A civil litigator must be well-versed in the seven distinct stages of civil litigation:
the investigation of the case, the observation of pleadings, and the discovery
stage (the gathering of evidence and witness testimonies), pre-trial, the delivery
and evaluation of the settlement and the appeal process if necessary. That being
said, the majority of civil matters do not pass through each state of litigation; the
majority of lawsuits will be settled prior to trial (the majority of civil matters are
settled in the discovery portion of civil litigation).
For those civil matters that do reach a trial verdict, the majority of them are not
appealed. Given the different stages and the varying subject matter involved in
each case, the lifespan of a civil lawsuit may range from several months to
several years—more complex civil litigation matters will often take years to pass
from pre-suit investigation through trial and the subsequent settlement.
The discovery portion of civil litigation is the most labor-intensive portion of the
process. As a result of this notion, the average civil litigator spends little time in
the actual courtroom; the majority of resources and time are devoted to the
gathering and evaluation of witness testimonies and evidence in the discovery
stage.

 Civil cases usually involve private disputes between persons or

organizations. Criminal cases involve an action that is considered
to be harmful to society as a whole (hence, these are considered
offenses against the "state" or the jurisdiction of the prosecution).
Whilecriminal law and civil law are different, there is some
crossover. It's important to understand the differences and
similarities when considering civil cases vs. criminal cases,
summarized in the sections below.
 Civil Cases
 A civil case begins when a person or entity (such as a corporation
or the government), called the plaintiff, claims that another person
or entity (the defendant) has failed to carry out a legal duty owed to
the plaintiff. Both the plaintiff and the defendant are also referred to
as "parties" or "litigants." The plaintiff may ask the court to tell the
defendant to fulfill the duty, or make compensation for the harm
done, or both. Legal duties include respecting rights established
under the Constitution or under federal or state law.
 Civil suits are brought in both state and federal courts. An example
of a civil case in a state court would be if a citizen (including a
corporation) sued another citizen for not living up to a contract.
 For example, if a lumberyard enters a contract to sell a specific
amount of wood to a carpenter for an agreed-upon price and then
fails to deliver the wood, forcing the carpenter to buy it elsewhere at
a higher price, the carpenter might sue the lumberyard to pay the
extra costs incurred because of the lumberyard's failure to deliver;
these costs are called damages. If these parties were from different
 states, however, then that suit could be brought in federal court
under diversity jurisdiction if the amount in question exceeded the
minimum required by statute ($75,000).
 Individuals, corporations, and the federal government can also
bring civil suits in federal court claiming violations of federal
statutes or constitutional rights. For example, the federal
government can sue a hospital for overbilling Medicare and
Medicaid, a violation of a federal statute. An individual could sue a
local police department for violation of their constitutional rights --
for example, the right to assemble peacefully.
 Criminal Cases
 A person accused of a crime is generally charged in a formal
accusation called an indictment (for felonies or serious crimes) or
information (for misdemeanors). The government, on behalf of the
people of the United States, prosecutes the case through the
United States Attorney's Office if the person is charged with a
federal crime. A state's attorney's office (often called a "District
Attorney") prosecutes state crimes.
 It's not the victim's responsibility to bring a criminal case. In a
kidnapping case, for instance, the government would prosecute the
kidnapper and the victim wouldn't be a party to the action. In some
criminal cases, there may not be a specific victim. For example,
state governments arrest and prosecute people accused of
violating laws against driving while intoxicated because society
regards that as a serious offense that can result in harm to others.
 When a court determines that an individual committed a crime, that
person will receive a sentence. The sentence may be an order to
pay a monetary penalty (a fine and/or restitution to the victim),
imprisonment, or supervision in the community (by a court
employee called a U.S. probation officer if a federal crime), or some
combination of these three things.
 Civil Cases vs. Criminal Cases: When They Cross Paths
 As we've discussed, civil cases involve disputes between (usually)
private parties, while criminal cases are considered acts against the
city, state, county, or federal government. But some acts may result
in both civil claims and criminal charges. For instance, a person
may be sued for the intentional tort of assault and/or battery, but
also may be arrested and charged with the crime(s) of assault
and/or battery.
 Also, there are times when a criminal act may give way to civil
liability, such as when someone is charged with homicide and also
sued for wrongful death (which typically follows the completion of
the criminal trial process). As in the assault and battery example
above, the criminal charges are punishable by fines, prison time,
and other penalties, while the lawsuit is focused on recovering
money to compensate the victim (or the victim's family) for
damages.