2021 saw a significant change in litigation and court proceedings. While significant changes in numbers were likely due to a global pandemic, civil cases filed in U.S. district courts grew 39% during 2021.

Civil cases involve conflict between people or institutions and can occasionally get resolved through compromise or settlements. If you find yourself needing to know more about what a civil suit entails, keep reading. In this article, we’ll provide a brief overview of what you can expect when filing a federal lawsuit.

Civil Law Overview

To understand the nuances of a civil suit, we must first understand what civil law encompasses. In overly simplified terms, criminal law deals with crimes considered morally wrong. Prosecution of such crimes involves the government when it comes to the decision of what conduct to consider criminalized.

Civil law is based on non-criminal terms. As a system, civil law focuses more on plaintiffs who claim some sort of harm or damage was brought upon them. In short, a civil case is a dispute between two parties.

In civil cases, burden of proof tends to fall in line with what the plaintiff alleges actually happened. Civil lawsuits commonly filed include:

• Fraud
• Defamation
• Personal injury
• Equitable claims
• Medical malpractice
• Breaches of contract
• Landlord and tenant issues

Stages of a Civil Suit

If you find yourself in the position of needing to file a civil suit, knowing the following stages of what occurs during a lawsuit will help.

During the first stage, known as pre-filing, associated parties will make demands and attempt a resolution prior to the possibility of going to court. The initial pleading follows in which one party files an official complaint or petition. This gets the ball rolling and the other involved party will then file a response or motion.

The following stage is known as the discovery stage in which information must be provided about the case. Both the defendant and the plaintiff will provide relevant information about the case such as documentation or necessary witnesses. The final stages are the pre-trial, trial, and post-trial stages. During these stages, evidence gets heard by a judge or a jury and the case is ultimately decided.

How to File a Lawsuit

While not every case will follow each of the stages above, it is helpful to know basic procedures. If you find yourself needing to file, here are a few of the basic steps you will need to take.

Say you are involved in a car accident that was not your fault. There are a lot of variables at play that can affect the outcome of a case. Figuring out who to file against can become complicated. Having a car accident lawyer in place will help when building your case.

After consulting with an attorney, the complaint gets filed, and the steps above are then followed until a resolution is found.

Are You Prepared to File?

Whether you’re filing a lawsuit to sue a city for damages to your vehicle, or you’re simply looking to take someone to court for negligent driving, filing a civil suit is one course of action to take. Having proper counsel on your side will help you with the complex details of your case as you work through the legal system.

For additional legal information, be sure to browse through any of the articles we offer in our Law section.

Jovani Boss

Jovani writes for topics like Home Improvement, Kitchen decor, Garden or travel-related topics additionally; he has a passion for the metal building industry for more than ten years, Jovani has become an experienced building specialist in this industry. His goal is to help people with his vast knowledge to assist them with his best suggestions about different metal buildings such as Metal Carports, garages, barns, utility buildings, and commercial structures.

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Are you planning on pursuing a career as an attorney?

You might look forward to being an attorney but the thought of being stuck in one law firm for several years seems like a nightmare! Luckily, you can pursue a career as a freelance attorney.

A freelance lawyer can work for themselves and can choose clients as they please. They don’t have to work with clients under the direction of a supervisor.

Here’s how to pursue a successful freelance law career:

Decide Your Legal Expertise

The first step is to ensure that you decide what specific legal services you want to offer your clients. To succeed as a freelance attorney then you should consider sticking to one specialized service.

This helps distinguish you from your competition. Here are some examples of what legal services you can offer:

• Creating contracts for businesses and entrepreneurs
• Offering negotiation and adjudication services
• Defending a defendant or plaintiff in court

Once you’ve decided on your legal expertise, you should stick to it for at least a few years. You can change it at a later stage but it’s a better career move to stick to one area.

Make sure you also get the legal qualifications to work in a particular area. After you’ve qualified for the bar you might want to take up an apprenticeship. This gives you an opportunity to gain experience with the services you’d like to offer.

Promote Your Services

The next step is to promote your services to potential clients. The first step should be to set up your office. You can run your practice from your home, an office, or via a co-working space membership.

Make sure you design your workspace to look professional. For example, you can look at Legalsupply.com to find legal supplies for your office.

Even if you don’t run a professional law firm you must give a great impression to potential clients. Make sure you set up a professional email address and phone number for clients to reach out to you.

You should start by reaching out to your close network including your family and friends. You can offer to do work for them on a pro-bono basis.

In return, ask them to provide you with a testimonial. Publish this testimonial on your website and social media profiles. You should also use social media to reach out to clients.

Consider also sending cold emails and direct mail advertisements promoting your services. Find a great copywriter who can help you create these advertisements.

Succeed As a Freelance Attorney

Now you can succeed as a freelance attorney and balance your career with your personal life.

You want to start by choosing one area of legal expertise to focus on. Make sure you seek an apprenticeship first to gain experience in the field.

Afterward, you want to promote your services to your network. Make sure you garner testimonials from your network by offering pro-bono services. Use social media, email marketing, and direct mail to promote your services.

You can find more tips on pursuing a freelance law career on our blog.

David Harrison

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There are over 1 million lawyers practicing in the United States alone. 

For many lawyers, building practice is a dream come true, one that requires hard work. They want to have their own law office with their name on it. For any law office to be successful, it has to be supplied and equipped with everything it will need. 

Let’s take a look at the types of office supplies that a legal firm needs:

1. Furniture 

Furniture is an important part of any law office, from chairs to couches to desks. A well-equipped office is comfortable and looks nice. It says to any incoming client that you are successful and that you care about them. 

Some lawyers make their offices look old-fashioned, and they enjoy the look of thick upholstery and heavy-duty furniture. Others prefer a more modern, slim look to their offices. Either way, don’t forget to get protectors for the desks. 

The office doesn’t have to be opulent, but it should reflect success. It should also be comfortable enough for clients to sit for extended periods of time. Clients may have to wait a while to speak to you, and they’ll need to be comfortable when you talk. 

2. Regular Office Supplies

Law office supplies share a lot of similarities with any other office. You’ll need computers, paper, pens of various colors as well as other things. One thing many lawyers can’t go without is a steady supply of sticky notes. 

You might also want to consider getting stationery and envelopes. Unlike a lot of businesses, the legal profession remains centered around hard copies. Where most offices have switched to being digital, no law office can go paperless. 

Since there will be papers, make sure to have hole punches and staplers on hand. You will have to contend with the sheer volume of paperwork. Law firm office supplies can vary based on how many employees work there and what type of law is being practiced. 

3. Legal Supplies

This is where the law office has a list of equipment and supplies that don’t match up with other offices. There are things specific to the legal profession that you will need to have on hand. These items include things like legal tabs and dividers. 

If you’re looking for great legal supplies, check out https://legalsupply.com/bottom-tab-dividers/. Legal tabs and legal folders go hand in hand. You may also need to get legal envelopes to provide a chain of custody and record keeping. 

Your Law Office

Now that you have your own office don’t be afraid to customize some of your supplies. Display your name, practice, and brand. This way, people will begin to associate your law office with a successful and growing practice. 

No law office can succeed without having the items that they need. Once you have your supply list made up, remember to keep a copy of it. Make sure to take regular inventory or give the job to an employee as a major responsibility. 

If this article was interesting or helpful, please take a moment and check out our site for the latest news, tips, and tricks on a variety of topics. 

David Harrison

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