Litigation Lawyers in Chatham

In Chatham, Illinois, "civil procedure" refers to the varied processes and procedures that must be followed when conducting a civil lawsuit.

Chatham, Illinois's government strives to make the civil justice system fair, efficient, and accessible. The rules of civil procedure are designed to advocate those goals, to the greatest extent possible.

In Chatham, Illinois, civil litigation is usually extremely confusing. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that the rules of civil procedure can also be fairly complicated. After all, they govern everything from the first document filed by the plaintiff, to the last ruling issued by an appeals court.

Major Chatham, Illinois Civil Procedure Issues

Complaint: The initial, and perhaps most significant, part of filing a lawsuit in Chatham, Illinois is the complaint. The complaint is filed with the court in Chatham, Illinois that's responsible for handling civil trials. It lists everything that the plaintiff (the person who is suing) alleges against the defendant (the person the plaintiff is suing). Typically, but not always, the end of the complaint will contain a "prayer for relief." The prayer for relief is just a statement of what the plaintiff is asking the court to do to remedy the harm that the defendant allegedly caused.

Answer: After the plaintiff files the complaint, the defendant has to act. While they have a few avenues at this stage of the game, most defendants elect to file an answer. The answer is the defendant's first direct response to the plaintiff's allegations. Occasionally, the answer contains a general denial, in which the defendant simply denies everything the plaintiff alleges. It might also contain a point-by-point addressing of every allegation the plaintiff makes, denying some, and admitting some.

Discovery: Once both sides have fired their opening volleys in the form of the complaint and answer, the next procedure in civil litigation in Chatham, Illinois is discovery. Under the civil procedure rules of most jurisdictions in the U.S., each side of a lawsuit is obligated by law to disclose relevant information to the other side. These disclosures come in the form of depositions, the production of documents, and answers to written questions submitted by opposing counsel.

Trial: It is truly quite rare for civil lawsuits in Chatham, Illinois to go to trial, since the rules of civil procedure in Chatham highly encourage early resolution to cases by dismissal of lawsuits that have no merit, and negotiated settlement of those that do. Nonetheless, when neither of those things happen, the case goes to trial. This is when a judge and jury determine the questions of law and fact, respectively, raised in the case. The jury then issues a verdict, based on the evidence presented to them.

How Can a Chatham, Illinois Lawyer Help?

If you're facing a lawsuit in Chatham, Illinois whether as the plaintiff or defendant, you will have to interact with your jurisdiction's civil procedure rules.

It should go without saying that you should have a Chatham, Illinois attorney on hand to deal with any civil procedure issues that you're almost sure to face, if you're engaged in a lawsuit.