What Do Civil Lawyers Do?
There is no simple answer to what the job of a civil lawyer entails. To know what they do, is to understand what a civil case is in the first place. A civil case is any case other than criminal. This could be a family or domestic case, debt collection, or probate case. While there are countless differences in all of those cases, they all fall under the umbrella of civil law. So what do civil lawyers do? They file petitions and answers to them, send and respond to discoveries, pursue settlements, and argue cases in trial.
Civil lawyers can represent either the defendant or the plaintiff in a case. When someone sues someone else, or is the party being sued, a civil lawyer may represent them in their case.
Step One In A Civil Case
The first thing that happens in any civil case is the filing of a petition. This is a very simple document stating the reason for the claim and why someone is entitled to some relief. Before a petition is even filed, an attorney can reach out to the other party and see if a settlement can be reached without going to court. If no agreement can be met, the petition is filed. At this point a process server is hired to serve the petition to the defendant. If there is no response within a certain amount of time, Oklahoma law dictates that a default judgement be entered. In some cases, a defendant may answer a petition and file a counterclaim at the same time.
Steps Two, Three, And More
After petitions and answers have been filed, the case will move on to discoveries, motions, and judgements. If you are involved in civil litigation, contact Charles McCaskey today by sending a message here. We can give you expert and adequate representation for your civil case today.