When you are involved in a civil case resulting from a dispute, the first person you need to call is a litigation lawyer. However, most people believe that a transactional lawyer can do the same work as a litigation attorney. Well, it is not true because transactional lawyers do not represent plaintiffs or defendants in court, but litigation lawyers do. It means that a litigation lawyer must be involved every step of the way to ensure their client gets a fair hearing. This article highlights the roles of a litigation lawyer in a lawsuit.

Case Assessment and Investigation

The first thing a plaintiff's or defendant's litigation lawyer does is assess and investigate a case to establish sufficient grounds for a lawsuit or defence. For instance, a litigation lawyer often interviews the client to get a first-hand account of the facts of a case. Afterwards, the lawyer locates and questions witnesses, including taking their statements and affidavits. If a litigation lawyer knows that they have a chance of winning a case based on the evidence available, they do not hesitate to proceed with the hearing. However, litigation lawyers also know when to engage in pre-litigation settlement with a prosecutor. It is mainly the case if there is enough damning evidence to put their client away.

Request for Discovery

Once a litigation lawyer has gathered all the evidence about the case in question, they will request a prosecutor to provide them with all relevant documents collected during investigations. A common method that litigation lawyers use during the discovery portion of a lawsuit is deposition. Here, a litigation lawyer asks a plaintiff oral questions, which they must answer under oath. Litigation lawyers also rely on requests for admissions during discovery where the other party must admit or deny aspects of a case in writing. Overall, discovery helps litigation lawyers prepare well for trial since it offers an opportunity to look at the other party's evidence as it will be presented in court.

Representation During Trial

After discovery, a case goes to trial in a court of law, where the litigation lawyer presents their case and evidence to a judge and a jury. Since the burden of proof always lies with a prosecutor, a litigation lawyer's main objective is to poke holes in the former's arguments. It means a litigation lawyer must know the strength and weaknesses of a prosecutor's case, which is why the discovery process is essential. A litigation lawyer who manages to convince a jury increases the chances of their client's release. On the other hand, if a client is found guilty, a litigation lawyer can still file for an appeal.

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