Federal Court Civil Litigation Checklist: How to Survive a Lawsuit and Trial (Your Legal Guides Book 1)

INTRODUCTION

Law schools do an excellent job preparing the minds of young attorneys to think about the legal theories applicable to given fact scenarios, but often do little to prepare a young attorney to actually work a litigation file from the client intake to the end of trial. This checklist started as an exercise to help the young associates with whom I work to understand what I expected them to do and what they would be accountable for on litigation files. What I thought would be a two or three page simple checklist ended up being much more comprehensive than I had ever imagined.

I have tried to make this checklist as comprehensive as possible so that any attorney or person representing themselves can use it as a resource to at least find the applicable rule or statute that governs most situations, but more importantly, to understand what it takes, “A to Z” to get a case ready for trial. I approach preparation for every lawsuit as if it will go to trial. Although a majority of cases settle, a litigant who prepares each case as though it is going to trial better understands his or her case, and is likely to craft better written discovery and to take better depositions. That litigant is ultimately better equipped to achieve a more favorable settlement than they otherwise would. I hope that you find this checklist helpful in your practice or as you represent yourself. This version contains the 2013 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure