Litigation

Plaintiff or Defendant

We handle cases on both sides of the docket.

Cost of litigation

A court judgment will frequently order the losing party to pay the costs of the lawsuit. These costs may include court filing fees and deposition expenses, among others. As a general rule, each party is responsible for paying his or her own attorney's fees, but there are some exceptions: a contract states the parties have agreed to pay attorney's fees; the lawsuit may involve a law that provides for payment of attorneys' fees; or Courts may award attorneys' fees to a party, if it is found that the other party engaged in frivolous or bad-faith litigation, or pursued legal theories that have no merit.

Length of a law suit

The length of time a lawsuit takes depends on a number of factors, such as the complexity of the case, the number of parties involved, the willingness of the parties to resolve the case, and how busy the court is. A relatively simple suit could be over in a few months, while a very complicated, multi-party suit, could take years to resolve.

Jury or Judge

Most lawsuits may be heard by a jury. The parties may agree to have the case heard by the judge. Sometimes the parties may agree to have the case decided by an arbitrator in binding arbitration. The arbitrator, who may have special knowledge about that area of law, is an attorney agreed upon by and paid by the parties.

Out of Court Settlements

Courts encourage settlement and usually appoint a mediator, but a Court cannot require parties to settle a case. Sometimes it is in each party's best interest to settle a case without going through a trial. Trials can be costly, and consume a lot of time that could better be spent on other things. If an agreement cannot be reached, the parties have the right to proceed to trial. Our clients are involved in the settlement process; and no settlement will ever be made without a client's understanding and consent.