Fundamentals of Pretrial Litigation

Book excerpt: This trailblazing work, now in its Eleventh Edition, continues to be the standard of pretrial texts, covering litigation practice and underlying theories. It is widely adopted in skills and clinic courses, advanced civil procedure seminars, civil procedure classes, as well as in pretrial litigation classes. The chapters comprehensively explain case planning, investigation, pleadings, discovery, ediscovery, depositions, interrogatories, document and ESI production, admission requests, sanctions, procedural and dispositive motions, effective motion advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution and settlement methods. The materials enable students to become highly competent, responsible, and ethical litigators. This benchmark book covers the skills, theories, strategies, tactics, and techniques applicable to pretrial and prehearing practice before judges, arbitrators, and administrative officials. The extensive text provides examples and illustrations of successful litigation practice. This innovative book continues to include web-based electronic documents. Ediscovery case files appear on a website that students and the professor can readily access. This online location contains numerous documents and problems involving electronically stored information. Students are able to locate, search, and analyze documents to better prepare them for contemporary litigation experiences. No other law school text provides this extensive range of pretrial litigation and ediscovery problems.