Litigation

General Duties

• Maintain repository and/or database of current court rules.
• Collect, organize and maintain form files, including model pleadings, motions, and checklists.
• Review legal periodicals and material relevant to a specialty area of law and report or circulate pertinent facts to appropriate attorney(s).
• Track and report any pending legislation and/or case law that may affect clients.
• Maintain litigation docket, calendar, or tickler system, noting deadline dates for responsive pleadings/motions, court appearances, and other important deadlines. Remind attorneys and prepare for meetings, hearings, depositions and trials.
• Prepare literature and materials for attorneys about antitrust compliance programs for clients.

Preliminary Investigation

• Attend initial interview with client; obtain background information.
• Obtain, review, organize, and analyze preliminary documentation and information supporting client's claim.
• Conduct research and determine appropriate jurisdiction.
• Review and summarize rules of procedure in court where action will be filed.
• Conduct conflict clearance checks.
• Draft demand letters.
• Investigate corporate background to determine proper party(ies) to sue, statutory agent, and officers.

Initiation of Action

• Draft summons and service of process.
• Draft complaint, bill of particulars, praecipe, writ of summons, and case information statements to file with court and serve upon opposing parties.
• Arrange for service of process.
• Work with attorney(s) to develop defenses, theory of case, and trial strategy.
• Draft answer to complaint and other defensive pleadings.
• Prepare motion to transfer venue, for special appearance, or special exceptions to the petition, if appropriate.
• Arrange for expedited trial and perpetuated deposition testimony, if appropriate.
• Participate in alternate dispute resolution (ADR), mediation, or arbitration (See ADR Specialty area, supra, for more detailed information.)

Discovery

• Retain outside investigator, if necessary.
• Conduct or coordinate factual investigation, including interview of witnesses.
• Draft interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for production of documents, and requests for examination or inspection.
• Meet with client; coordinate the collection and review of client files; gather, organize, summarize and analyze factual data collected.
• Draft responses to discovery requests.
• Coordinate response to requests for examination or inspection with client.
• Examine and, if necessary, obtain public records relevant to facts of lawsuit.
• Conduct research to locate, communicate with, interview, and retain expert witnesses.
• Obtain written reports/analyses of physical evidence, injuries, issues, and financial evaluations from expert witnesses.
• Prepare statistical and/or factual memoranda.
• Prepare market surveys and gather industry statistics.
• Trace documents and other physical evidence.
• Analyze and summarize factual information.
• Prepare chronologies from deposition testimony, documents, and other factual records.
• Correspond with client and with in-house, outside, or common counsel on factual matters.
• As necessary and appropriate, communicate and correspond with client about case status and preparation.
• Review legal publications for hearing notices and/or proceedings in the case.
• Prepare lien letter; respond to lien letter or to opposing party.
• Supervise personnel, such as document clerks and junior paralegals assigned to specific projects for pending litigation; monitor progress of projects.

Document Production

• Review and obtain all relevant documents in client's possession; work with attorney to determine documents to produce.
• Assist attorney in reviewing documents for privilege; draft log of privileged documents for production to opposing counsel in lieu of producing actual documents.
• Perform, supervise, or coordinate objective/subjective coding of case documents. Consult in-house or outside sources to develop document databases for relevant case documents from document production. (See Computer Litigation Support section, supra, for more detailed information.)
• Schedule, organize, and control document acquisitions and/or productions.
• Attend document production on behalf of client; if necessary review and identify documents to be duplicated for actual production.
• Review, index, organize, analyze, and summarize documents produced by other parties.
• As necessary and appropriate, prepare additional discovery requests; follow up on outstanding discovery requests to ensure response by opposing party.
• Update discovery responses as additional information is collected.

Depositions

• Coordinate deposition schedule with client, attorneys, and opposing counsel.
• Draft notice of oral deposition and serve subpoenas; if necessary draft duces tecum language for inclusion in subpoena to acquire additional documents.
• As necessary and appropriate, prepare commissions to take out-of-state depositions.
• Draft outline of questions for examining of witnesses at depositions.
• Review and assemble documents to be used in deposition.
• Prepare witnesses for deposition.
• Retain court reporter and determine need for computerized or videotaped transcript.
• Attend deposition and assist attorney by taking notes and organizing exhibits identified during depositions.
• Index and summarize deposition testimony and exhibits.
• Draft list of documents and testimony to use in impeaching opposition witnesses and/or identifying inconsistent information.
• Develop dossiers on adverse experts; gather impeaching material regarding adverse experts including prior testimony, transcripts, relevant articles, and publications.

Briefing

• Collect, organize, and maintain research reference file.
• Assist in preparing motions for summary judgment, motion to dismiss, or responses thereto.
• Research procedural, administrative, and case law. Conduct computer-assisted legal and factual research using on-line services such as WESTLAW, LEXIS or Dialog.
• Assist in preparing discovery, pre-trial, and trial motions (i.e., motions to oppose expedited discovery, to compel discovery, for protective order, to extend time limit, to preclude evidence from being admitted at trial, to admit out-of-state attorney to appear pro hac vice, for reconsideration of court's decision) or responses to same.
• Research and draft motions in limine.
• Draft affidavits and assemble exhibits in support of briefs and petitions.
• Communicate with court and opposing counsel regarding hearing dates, filings, etc., including arranging for extensions of time to respond.
• Review briefs for accuracy of factual information and quotes as well as citations to the record.
• Check case history with Shepard's to ensure case law cited in brief is valid.
• Review cite form in briefs for completeness and accuracy in accordance with Bluebook.
• Proof briefs for spelling, syntax, consistency, and textual integrity; ensure accuracy of table of contents and table of authorities.
• Review and assemble exhibits to be included in the appendix to brief.
• Coordinate service of brief to other parties and filing with court.
• Review brief for errata; if appropriate, prepare, file, and serve errata submission.

Settlement

• Prepare settlement calculations based on factual and projected information/documentation produced in conjunction with pending litigation. Calculations should include a comparative analysis of financial information and various terms for potential settlement agreements, along with information about applicable liens and subrogation claims.
• Attend settlement conferences with attorney and client.
• Draft settlement documents, including agreements, releases and orders for dismissal or satisfaction.
• Arrange for propr storage or disposal of case documents in accordance with protective orders, settlement agreements, and/or record retention policies.

Trial

• Draft pretrial statements and settlement conference memoranda.
• Attend pretrial conference with judge and attorneys.
• Prepare and index key pleadings notebook, including cited authorities.
• Prepare trial notebooks of key documents and witness files.
• Work directly with experts, consultants, and witnesses concerning case and assist to prepare them for trial.
• Discuss courtroom etiquette with client and witnesses.
• Coordinate arrangements with local vendors regarding technical courtroom equipment, space, and other requirements. If trial will be held in a distant city or state, set up "trial office."
• Develop outlines for direct and cross-examination of witnesses.
• Coordinate lay and expert witnesses' attendance at trial. Draft trial subpoenas for non-party witnesses.
• Review discovery documents for value as trial exhibits, identify potential trial exhibits, and confer with attorney regarding use at trial in conjunction with witness testimony.
• Organize, mark and index trial exhibits.
• Coordinate design and preparation of graphic exhibits, video and/or computer presentations and other demonstrative evidence materials for use at trial.
• Monitor and coordinate exchange of trial exhibits with other parties.
• Draft summary of documents and testimony to use in revealing inconsistencies and/or impeaching opposition witnesses.
• Manage physical and demonstrative evidence at trial.
• Obtain jury list and biographical information on potential jurors.
• Draft jury instructions and voir dire questions.
• Attend jury selection and record information obtained from voir dire questioning of potential jurors.
• Develop chart of jury chosen with information gathered during the jury selection process.
• Attend and assist attorney at trial by maintaining list of exhibits as identified, offered into evidence, admitted, or objected to (including judicial disposition), and noting developments of case, reactions of jurors, witnesses, and opposing counsel during trial.
• Obtain daily electronic data, audio, and/or videotape transcripts from proceedings in electronic courtrooms.
• Order hearing transcripts and prepare index or outline of transcripts, or arrange for input on full-text research database.

Post-Trial

• Draft findings of fact and conclusions of law, or final order, if appropriate.
• Draft motion for new hearing or to amend the judgment.
• Draft documents regarding satisfaction of judgment.
• Draft notice of appeal, if appropriate. (See Appellate Section, supra, for more detailed information.)