We get this question frequently and I can’t help but picture myself holstering a pistol, pulling my ten gallon hat down over my brow, tossing my lasso around an insurance adjuster and dragging them to the courthouse steps. Fun as that might sound, it’s not how litigation works in the real world. Little of the substance of a case (prior to trial) actually occurs in court (especially in these post-pandemic days). And clients are rarely present during the times we do find ourselves in court.
So how do we think about the notion of being ‘in court?’ A case can be resolved prior to litigation, which is the formal process of initiating legal action. Once a lawsuit is filed, litigation begins and the court has jurisdiction over the parties, so the defendant has then been, at least in theory, ‘taken to court’. Of course, the filing of a lawsuit is merely the beginning of what can be a long and potentially complex process. Because a trial is where much of the excitement happens, clients often perceive trial as a party being taken to court, but it is better thought of as a culmination of the litigation process if the parties have not been able to resolve the case while in court at any time leading up to the trial.