Business & Civil Litigation FAQs

Mediation is an informal legal proceeding that takes place outside of a courtroom and allows the parties to be in control of the outcome of their case. Parties to a lawsuit who wish to resolve their matter without proceeding to trial often attend Mediation. Retired Judges and other trained professionals act as Mediators and opine as to the strengths and weaknesses of the case. This helps the parties reach an out of court settlement to resolve the entire matter. Learn more.

Litigation refers to the legal process once a Complaint has been filed with the court and ends in a trial before a Judge or Jury. Once the Complaint and Answer have been filed, the parties may engage in discovery where each party asks questions to the other party. Each party may take the deposition of any party, and other witnesses who have knowledge of any information related to the case. Once discovery ends, the case is set for trial where each party presents evidence to support their claims. Learn more.

People often believe they will be able to speak directly to the Judge soon after a case commences. In reality, the parties never speak to a Judge. Their arguments are communicated through their attorneys in motions and other written documents during the duration of the case. At trial, a party may take the stand and be asked questions by all the attorneys in the matter. Learn more.

There are many steps that lead to trial, with trial being the last event that will occur in a case. It is imperative that sufficient information, discovery, and depositions take place so that each party has enough evidence to support their claims. That process can take several months to several years depending on the complexity of the case and necessity of motions to be filed. Even when a case is ready for trial, the large amount of cases assigned to each Judge often leave few available dates for trial. Learn more.