The vast majority of civil cases that are filed are not actually tried. Civil litigation is typically resolved before trial, either through a dispositive motion or a settlement. This course is intended to provide students with experience in all aspects of civil litigation prior to the trial itself, the work that represents what civil litigators typically do on a day-to-day basis. We will address practical questions—the mechanics of what to do, when to do it, and where to go for help. We also will consider strategic questions successful litigators must consider at each stage of the case as they position a case for all three potential outcomes (settlement, disposition through motions practice, or trial). Finally, we will discuss common ethical questions that arise in the course of civil litigation, particularly with respect to discovery.
Students will be assigned the role of plaintiff or defense counsel and provided with a hypothetical case to litigate. In that context, students will try their hands at the most important aspects of pretrial civil practice, from conducting the initial client interview, to drafting or responding to the complaint, to negotiating discovery disputes, to drafting and arguing motions, to deposing witnesses. Each week, students will have the opportunity to gain or use information that may support or undermine their case, and we will discuss questions about what can and should (from a practical, strategic, and ethical perspective) be done to obtain, preserve, share, and use that information.
Students will be provided with a variety of written materials to use as resources in completing the weekly assignments as the case progresses, including rules, seminal cases, excerpts from useful treatises, and articles written by successful practitioners. For many tasks students are asked to perform, we also will provide them with a checklist of practical, strategic, and ethical issues to consider. Our goal is to provide students with a set of materials that will serve as a useful guide when they become practitioners.