A lawsuit is not what you see on TV.
On TV, a lawsuit is won by an attorney marching into court with a grand display of showmanship and a cunning tongue. The TV judge hearing the case makes a spot decision and it’s all over and decided before the final commercial break. In reality, a civil litigation takes years and is much more of a chess match than a swordfight. As opposed to this courtroom drama, a real case is typically decided on paper submissions that may be heard months after they are first provided to the court. Additionally, the decision is often made on a technical procedural rule, not on the merits or substance of the litigation.
You see, being right isn’t everything in real litigation. Instead, a real lawsuit is all about knowing how to play the game. The following is a summary of the stages of a litigation, but this chess match isn’t linear and each of the stages can appear out of order and can even reoccur again and again. So, civil litigants need a skilled advocate who is a master of the game if they want a shot at victory. Here is your game board:
