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Setting a goal
- Establish a goal that is clear, well defined, achievable, desired, and precise.
- Litigation goals might include justice, settlement, delay, or a favorable judgment
- To set your goal, know where you are in the case, what’s been filed and the next steps to take.
Planning tactics and procedures for your goal
- If your goal is justice, your tactic might be to harass. One way to proceed might be to use interrogatories or requests for the production of documents to obtain information your opponent may not want to reveal.
- If your goal is to settle, a tactic might be to raise litigation expenses so that your opponent will want to give in early. Make your opponent spend money and his lawyer bill. Consider interviewing witnesses for depositions or forcing your opponent to hire forensic examiners to review documents.
- If your goal is to delay, your tactic might be to raise extraneous issues without being frivolous. If you’re a defendant, file a motion for an extension of time to answer the complaint or produce a long list of affirmative defenses. Review all documents with a fine-toothed comb and nitpick over everything to see if you have grounds for a dismissal, a motion to quash the complaint, or a counterclaim.
- If your goal is to get a favorable judgment, your tactic may be to focus on the core elements of the case and the law and not get sidetracked. If your tactic is to focus on core elements, you will need to respond adequately to all motions and pleadings, attend and be prepared for scheduled hearings, and avoid summary judgment or dismissal against you.
Describing your legal position
- Your position depends on the type of case you’re involved in. In a child custody case, your position may be that you should raise the child. In a foreclosure case, your position may be that the subject house is yours, not the banks.
- Your position also depends on the steps or stages in the litigation process. You might have one or more positions at the complaint stage and different ones at other times in litigation.
Transcript
Hi. I\’m Portia, and this is introductory legal skills, the second course in our series on civil litigation.
Lesson two covers topics related to developing a legal strategy.
This lesson will cover setting a goal, planning tactics and procedures for your goal, and describing your legal position.
Why set goals?
Goals provide direction for your legal strategy and save time that you might otherwise spend on irrelevant things.
Establish your goal early in the litigation process and make it clear, well defined, achievable, desired, and precise.
Goals are the results of your actions. What do you want the outcome of this litigation to be?
For instance, do you simply want justice or do you want to settle? You want a delay or a favorable judgment?
In litigation, multiple routes lead to your goal. Think about the route you want to take. Get a sense of where you are in the case and what you already know.
What\’s been filed and what might be the next step to take?
Once you have a goal, think of a strategy or tactic for your goal. What steps would you take? What documents would you file and when?
If what you want is justice in that you don\’t want to be kicked around or you want to teach your opponent a lesson, your tactic might be to harass.
One way to proceed is to use interrogatories or requests for production of documents to obtain information your opponent may not want to reveal.
If your goal is to settle, a tactic might be to raise litigation expenses so that your opponent will want to give in early.
Make your opponent spend money on his lawyer bill.
Consider interviewing witnesses for depositions or forcing your opponents to hire forensic examiners to review documents.
If your goal is to delay, such as in a foreclosure case where you want to stay in your house for a length of time, your tactic might be to raise extraneous issues without being frivolous.
If you\’re a defendant, file a motion for extension of time to answer the complaint or produce a long list of affirmative defenses.
Review all documents with a fine tooth comb and nitpick over everything to see if you have grounds for a dismissal, a motion to quash the complaint, or a counterclaim.
If your goal is to get a favorable judgment, your tactic may be to focus on the core elements of the case and the law and not get sidetracked.
You don\’t want a delay, but you want to stay in long enough to get a judgment in your favor.
If your tactic is to focus on core elements, you will need to respond adequately to all motions and pleadings, attend and be prepared for scheduled hearings, and avoid summary judgment or dismissal against you.
What is your legal position?
Ask yourself this question throughout the litigation and know the answer.
Let\’s discuss what it means by legal position.
A gives x a check that satisfies a debt owed.
X sits on the check for six months then decides to cash it. The check bounces.
If you\’re a, your position is that the debt has been paid.
If you\’re x, your position is that it hasn\’t.
Every case is different, so your position depends on the type of case you\’re involved in.
In a child custody case, your position may be that you should raise the child.
In a foreclosure case, your position may be that the subject house is yours, not the bank\’s.
Your position also depends on the steps or stages in the litigation process.
You might have one or more positions at the complaint stage and different ones at other times in litigation.
State your legal position in light of available facts and your goal.
In the aforementioned scenario between a and x, which facts dictate that a should prevail?
Which facts dictate x should?
It\’s thrilling to have a good strategy.
Whether it ultimately gives you a complete win or not, having a strategy gives you a very strong chance to get at least some of what you want.
Checkmate.
In review, this lesson discussed goals and the importance of setting them for your case, developing tactics and tangible procedures to meet those goals, and defining your legal position based on your type of case and steps in litigation.