Litigation
This is the area of the law were you are unable to resolve disputes between you and other parties and the result is that you are going to have to settle the matter in Court. Either you are going to sue another party or they are going to sue you.
When you sue someone, you are the Plaintiff and the other party is the Defendant. To initiate the law suit in Illinois, we would have to prepare a complaint setting forth your cause of action against the other party; review the complaint with you; file the complaint with the clerk of the appropriate court and have the Sheriff serve the complaint along with a summons on the other party, the defendant. The other party may file an answer denying your allegations and the matter would then go through the court system, and eventually arriving at a trial date.
If you are sued, we would prepare an answer on your behalf to the other parties complaint; review the answer with you; and file it with the court.
In either case, during the period between the filings and the trial date, we would be acting on your behalf to prepare for trial by initiating various discovery methods to find out how strong a case the other side has, what evidence they might have to support their allegations, who they intend to have as witnesses and what the witnesses' testimony would be in court. During this period of time, we would be entertaining any offers of settlement, which would be subject to your approval.
And at all times, our staff of experienced attorneys would be in constant communication with you as to the progress of the case.
This article is intended to highlight areas of interest for our clients and others. It is not intended to be legal advice and it is not a substitute for advice and consultation with your lawyer.