Litigation - What is it?
Merriam-Webster's defines litigation as, "to carry on a legal contest
by judicial process." A legal contest usually means a civil action or
lawsuit. Simply put, litigation is a way to resolve a legal dispute.
In litigating a case, any good lawyer will formulate a plan. The plan
may or may not be written, but it will always include a list of things
that need to be done to prepare a case for trial. The ultimate goal
being that the lawyer will be able to present enough evidence at trial
to win the case. A good lawyer, however, also knows that the best thing
for the client, in most cases, is to avoid trial if at all possible.
Trial is the ultimate gamble as you never know what the jury is going
to do. To avoid trial, a lawyer has to always work toward settlement,
which is done most effectively by preparing a case for trial.
Settlements generally occur when the other side is convinced that they
may lose at trial. A defense attorney will be motivated to go to trial
if Plaintiff’s counsel has not convinced him or her that the Plaintiff
may prevail. A Plaintiff may be motivated to got to trial if the
Defense either does not understand the case, or refuses to acknowledge
their responsibility.
- Joseph R. Maridon, Jr., Esq.