29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good, but necessarily limited, intro to the legal system, June 1, 2003
Overall, I'd give this a positive rating, but since it's written for all 50 states, it is so broad in its coverage that it makes it difficult to learn about how to pursue your lawsuit in your particular state.
I'd suggest reading this book and trying to fill out forms as you go. Pick up the 'local rules' from your own court, and study them for what Bergman doesn't tell you.
One thing I will say, though, is that one bit of advice was invaluable...on visiting the court before your motion or case is heard. I did this, and it took a lot of the mystery out of the whole process.
By doing this, by the way, I was completely surprised that (in the motion hearings) that most of what took place was pretty much on a par with small claims court, with a few legal latin phrases peppering the give-and-take. Most of the motions I heard consisted of two things: Why one or the other party failed to meet deadlines, and trying to get the other guy's case thrown out before everyone went to trial.
One other thing that was also surprising...the opposing lawyers where pretty buddy-buddy with each other. I guess the hostility and animosity that one would associate with a lawsuit pretty much reside only in the parties to the suit themselves.
In my appearance, I took it very cool and did not act emotional at all. Let's face it...the court doesn't want to hear it. They just want to get done so they can go to lunch.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Represent Yourself in Court, January 25, 2003
This book gives an understandable rendition of the various legal
procedures involved in bringing a major lawsuit into the Court
system. It is most helpful in assisting litigants with case
organization and presentation. The work explains how to document
a case throughout the various phases of a lawsuit with particular
emphasis on presentation of exhibits for trial. The work is
written in a belles lettres style. It could be read by anyone
wanting to understand the litigation process, as well as
law students taking courses in Civil Litigation. The book could
be useful in organizing a case so that a lawyer could pick it
up at a later time. Very often, the details of a claim may not
be fully known until the deposition process has been completed.
I would supplement this book with the purchase of a Civil
Procedure book if the intention is to complete the entire process
right through to trial. This work focuses on the documentation
you will need to develop in order to prove a case at trial.
The work has a good coverage of negotiation strategies.
Ultimately, it is in your interest to deal with a lawyer during
a formal negotiation in order to ascertain that you've secured
a fair deal.It pays to become familiar with a local legal
library as a supplement to this text. In addition, you should
utilize the internet in order to review similar cases
in the various Court jurisdictions relating to your case.
Sometimes it pays to talk to a lawyer who has completed a similar
case in order to gain perspective on the intricacies of the
whole process. This text gives you a good start.
It would be most helpful in organizing the type of case
that only develops after the deposition process is complete.
Early in the litigation, you should do some research in order
to identify cases similar to yours that have been decided.
The past precedent or stare decisis is very critical to
presenting a claim because it encapsules your case into
a similar fact pattern consistent with other cases that have
been decided by the Courts.It is to your benefit to do legal
research in identifying similar cases to your own either by
going into the legal libraries yourself, researching the
internet or paying a small fee for a legal research firm
to identify similar cases as the one you are filing.
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