These are the Roles and Responsibilities of a Litigation Attorney

"Litigation Attorneys" also termed as "Litigators" or "Trial Lawyers" are responsible for representing a defendant or plaintiff in civil cases and managing all the stages of litigation process from investigation to appeal. The job responsibilities of the litigation attorney may vary depending on the nature of dispute, type of client, and level of experience he/she possesses. Let’s examine the different types of tasks a litigator is entitled to perform in his practice.

1. Initial Case Investigation/Assessment

Initial case investigation involves the attorney determining if adequate evidence is present to file a lawsuit—in case of a plaintiff, or if there is enough evidence to gain protection from a suit—in case of a defendant. The process involves a series of activities such as finding witnesses and registering their statements, gathering important documents, interviewing the client and studying the facts and figures that resulted in the dispute. Most often the litigation attorneys prefer pre-litigation settlement talks to see if the dispute could be resolved before filing a lawsuit.

2. Pleadings

Litigators draft different types of pleading statements on behalf of the defendant or plaintiff. A plaintiff attorney will prepare a summoning order and complaint to initiate the lawsuit. While defendant attorney engages with client in going through the allegations put forward and formulate relevant responses.

3. Discovery

The discovery stage comes when both the parties exchange required information with each other. Attorneys apply a number of discovery devices such as interrogatories, depositions, and request for production and admission, to acquire relevant information for the lawsuit.

Attorneys will also inspect physical evidence and search the site of accident along with collecting, processing and analyzing information accumulated during e-discovery. They create a case strategy based on the information collected and issues identified in the discovery process.

4. Pre-Trial

In weeks before the actual trial, litigators complete the discovery phase and start preparation for the trial. During the pre-trial stage, they regularly consult clients and provide suggestions, keep expert witnesses close, attend pre-trial conferences and use key facts and evidence to formulate a strategy for trial.

5. Trial

Most often the lawsuits filed in civil court are cleared before the trial arrives. If the dispute is not settled and forced all the way to the trial, the litigation attorneys get busy all in court proceedings and correspondences.

In the trial stage, litigators heavily invest themselves with clients and experts to draft a trial theme, finding gaps and opportunities in the case, developing strong and persuasive arguments, preparing witnesses for testimony, and create and argue trial motions.

In a trial, litigators conduct voir dire—a preliminary examination of a witness, choose a jury and put forward the case in court. The attorney may start by presenting an opening and closing statement, examine the witness closely, and use testimony and evidence to produce a persuasive argument for the judge or jury. The attorney will also create instructions and engage in post-trial interviews of the jury.

6. Settlement

As stated above most cases are settled earlier in order to avoid undergoing the stress and expense of trials. However, the litigation attorney may settle the case at any time during the lifespan of the litigation process.

In the settlement phase, the litigators from both ends tend to make negotiations and settlement discussions with the opposing parties and the judge.

7. Appeal

In case a litigation attorney is not satisfied with the settlement result or the outcome of the case, he/she have the right to appeal for the case. For appeal litigators create post-trial motions; recognize and safe issues for appeal; come up with relevant strategies; collect facts and evidence for the appellate record; go through procedural issues; draft appellate documents; and present verbal arguments in appellate courts.

Moreover if the case is somewhat critical or complicated, the litigators can avail the expertise of attorneys specialized in appellate court cases.