Going to Trial: What to Expect

The Richard Law Firm was created to help people secure justice using our legal system.

What It’s Like to Be Involved in a Lawsuit

The mechanics of a lawsuit follow a specific pattern, from when an attorney agrees to represent a client to the completion of a jury trial. Throughout this process, the attorney should keep clients completely informed on the developments of the case. In our view, a qualified lawyer should follow these steps:

Evaluating Your Case

An attorney evaluates the facts involved in a case to determine whether the client has a credible claim against the negligent individual or organization and to decide on the most effective way to proceed with the case. This investigation can be very time-consuming and normally involves taking statements from witnesses, obtaining photographs of accident scenes or other relevant images, consulting with other experts, and securing all other pertinent details.

Issues to consider at the initial stages include:

  • Penalties for frivolous lawsuits: In addition to gauging the chances for a lawsuit’s success, there is another reason that reputable attorneys invest so much time and money in evaluating claims. If an individual files a frivolous or unfounded lawsuit, the court could order the plaintiff to pay attorney’s fees related to the case and impose a penalty for filing a frivolous lawsuit. .
  • Time limits for filing damage claims: These vary between states and in different courts, and can be quite short. It is important to comply with time limits or the case will be barred, and the plaintiff loses all rights.

Agreement for Legal Service/Written Fee Agreement

The attorney accepts the case. There should be a clear written fee agreement signed by the client and the attorney.

Filing the Lawsuit

The attorney prepares the case, conducting additional research to collect relevant information, and files a lawsuit with the appropriate court. In some cases, a lawsuit should be filed in order to obtain further information, or for other legal reasons, even before there has been a settlement attempt. For some actions against certain government entities, the plaintiff must submit a written claim to the agency and then file the lawsuit.

Getting a Trial Date

The court assigns a trial date for the lawsuit. During this time, the attorneys for the plaintiff and the defendant will prepare the case for trial and may begin settlement negotiations. In some areas the court requires a settlement conference before a trial can proceed.

Going to Trial

If the parties cannot reach an appropriate settlement, the case proceeds to jury trial.