Civil lawsuits typically vary in duration and complexity. Most lawsuits are addressed and settled early on, but a lot of other lawsuits are taken through each stage of the process, in order to provide the parties with sufficient clarity regarding their liabilities, strength and weaknesses or their case, and the likelihood of a certain outcome before reaching a jury. Once in a while, due to circumstances that are not foreseeable, the parties just cannot agree and get on the same page with one another, which results in a jury trial being the necessary measure to ensure a just result. Here are some stages of a lawsuit to consider:

• Pre-litigation stage : Before going to court, a demand letter addressing the issue can be of great help in negotiation and trying to solve the dispute prior to filing a lawsuit, which can save a lot of time and money. The demand letter will provide sufficient notice of the facts surrounding the claim, the relevant laws that apply, the evidence that supports liability, and also a chronology of events and documents following the incident that support the appropriate claim for economic and noneconomic damages.

• Pleading stage : A complaint is filled out and filed by the Plaintiff in order to start the court case. The complaint is a document that sets forth a jurisdictional basis for the court’s power, the plaintiff’s cause or causes of action, and a demand for appropriate relief. As a result, the court summons the defendant who basically asserts counterclaims.

• Discovery stage: The discovery stage takes place when both parties exchange data and evidence relevant to the case. It’s a stage where attorneys use several tactics provided by the law to obtain necessary information to win the case.

• Pre-trial stage: A stage where parties actually start preparing for trial. In addition, filing motions is key in this phase since a judge’s decision on a motion might win or lose a critical issue that is pivotal to the case. Motions filed by attorneys include a motion to dismiss (to terminate case early), motion for summary judgement (decide case without a trial), motion to compel further responses to interrogatories (request more complete answers from opposing side), motions to compel depositions (require deposition), and motions to bifurcate (split trial into separate parts).

• Trial stage: The stage where the court or a jury evaluates the evidence of both parties in order to render a verdict. In a trial, We could witness things such as trial procedure, introducing and objecting to evidence, examination and cross-examination of witnesses, etc.

• Post-trial stage: Depending on the verdict, we can’t say that the process is over. This is when one or both parties could file a notice of appeal presenting arguments if they believe that the court judgment has an error as a matter or law, which made the trial process unfair.