By Ross Keilen

If you find that you need legal advice or representation, it’s critical that you hire a firm with the training and experience to handle your particular situation. When you wish to file a legal claim or defend against one, a litigation attorney can help you navigate the complex legal system. The experienced trial attorneys at Keilen Law can represent either defendants or plaintiffs in civil lawsuits, managing all phases of the litigation process.

Education

A trial attorney must earn a four-year bachelor’s degree and then take the LSAT for admission to a three-year program that grants them a Juris Doctor degree from an accredited school. Once graduated, they are required to pass the bar exam in the state in which they wish to practice. In many cases, lawyers are also admitted to the bar in adjacent states for a broader range of clients. Litigators can be generalists or choose to specialize in certain areas of law, such as:

• Contracts
• Corporate litigation
• Personal Injury
• Real Estate

Duties

The specific tasks required of a trial lawyer depend on the type of dispute and which side of the lawsuit they represent. If hired for the plaintiff’s side, the attorney conducts an initial case investigation to discover whether there is enough evidence to file a lawsuit. As the legal representative for the defendant, he or she will evaluate the evidence and determine if there is enough to defend against the plaintiff’s claims.

Pre-Trial

The discovery process is the phase in which each side obtains evidence from the opposing party, investigating the case facts through civil procedure rules. Each party can ask for virtually any material that can be reasonably determined to lead to pertinent information discovery.

Requests for Admissions

One party may ask the other to affirm specific facts about the case. These carefully worded questions can bring to light information that could be considered liabilities or assets. They allow the litigation attorney to dig deeper into the relevant issues and enable inferences to be drawn as a result of those answers.

Interrogatories

These open-ended, written questions must be answered as part of the discovery process. They request an individual’s version of the facts and claims and are asked of your side and the opposing party. Questions can range from broad questions such as, “What happened on September 8, 2020?” to more specific inquiries, “Is it your position that the defendant drove a white, four-door sedan at 3 pm on August 14, 2019?” Civil procedure limits the number and types of questions that can be asked.

Requests for Production

During discovery, requests for production, one party asks the other to provide specific tangible evidence pertaining to the case. This can include hard copy documents as well as electronically stored information. Each side can subpoena information from non-parties. Depending on the type of case, the evidence obtained can be immense, and the procedure may become very expensive in complex cases.

Depositions

A deposition is a live testimony from witnesses while under oath. The proceedings typically take place in an attorney’s office, rather than in the courtroom. A court reporter records the testimony, governed by the rules of evidence.

Contact Our Office To Get Started

Litigators collaborate with subject matter experts and clients to create a persuasive narrative for their side, with a significant amount of work taking place before the trial. If you need representation in the courtroom, contact the experienced litigators at Keilen Law today. We have the expertise and commitment to help you achieve the best possible outcome. You can also reach us by phone at (269) 382-4818.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Amnaj Khetsamtip