Investigation requires research of any claims, defenses, and counterclaims to find evidence regarding your claim.  Through investigation, we hope to determine the strength and credibility of your claim.

Complaints, Motions, and Answers are all requests for some enforceable action by the Court.  Once drafted, filed, and served, pleadings become the legal blueprints of the case.

Depositions, interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and subpoenas all occur during this stage.  This is the most labor intensive stage, as all key evidence in the case must be obtained and verified.

During the pre-trial phase, a party may file a Motion to Compel, Motion for Summary Judgement, and / or a Motion to Dismiss.  Most civil suits do not proceed to trial, and parties agree to settle prior to reaching the trial stage.

Unlike trials, appeals occur from a dispute over interpretation of the law.  Appeals of a trial-court decision consider the legal (not factual) validity.  This process often shapes the way the law is interpreted in the future.