The different phases of a civil lawsuit are the pre-litigation phase, the discovery phase, and then, when you move into trial. The pre-litigation phase is where you’ve recently been injured. You’ve recently been harmed. You’re reaching out to the attorney. You’re establishing the relationship. You’re identifying the evidence that exists right now that those attorneys really need to get their hands on to preserve, to make sure that we have the evidence to prove who is responsible and why for the harms that you have sustained. Then you file the lawsuit. That starts the litigation phase of the case.
At that point, the law firms and the attorneys get the ability to send subpoenas and to get documents. We have the right to do depositions, which is a question and answer session where we have the power to pull the wrongdoers in and ask them questions and really get the evidence that we need to prove your case. During this phase of the litigation, the other side will send you written questions. You’ll answer that. Give them the evidence they need to understand why it is that they are responsible and the extent of the harm that they have caused you. You will also give a deposition in your case. Deposition, as I said, is a question-and-answer session. And that’s where the other side has an opportunity to meet you, to ask you questions, and really get a sense for the person who’s going to be sitting in the jury box at trial and who the jury’s going to meet and want to do right for. The deposition is your opportunity to show the other side exactly who you are and what they’re going to have to face when they go to trial. Once all of the discovery phase has been completed, both sides have an opportunity to gather the evidence. They’ve gathered the evidence, and they’ve decided that they can’t resolve the case through mediation.
Then you go to trial. At trial, both sides are there. The judge is there. The judge is the referee there to call balls and strikes. We put on the evidence, and a jury of your peers decides who’s got it right. And at that point, that’s when you get the answer. That’s when you find out exactly how we are going to hold the other side accountable.
