CIVIL LITIGATION OVERVIEW

Catalog description

This course is designed to provide a "bird's eye view" of the civil litigation process from case intake up until the eve of trial. Among the aims of this proposed course is to demystify the legal process by providing students with a basic understanding of how a lawsuit is filed, prosecuted, and defended against. To that end, it is meant to provide a practical step by step overview of the different stages of prosecuting and defending a civil action including case intake, pre-litigation investigation and research, filing and responding to a complaint, discovery, law and motion, mediation, and ADR. We also plan to discuss what evaluations, strategy, ethical issues, and factual investigation lawyers should consider before and during the process.