Lawsuit Help

Strategies

Case Strategy

Some of the elements of this planning will be to decide: What the main focus of your case will be.

What you think the main focus of the opposition's case will be. Which witnesses will be called?

How to handle any data submitted that may appear inconsistent.

Ask your attorney to fill out a Court Presentation Outline Form for each way your attorney may handle the case. This form will help you see the battle plan your attorney intends to follow.

Being in on the plan will keep you from executing a Charge of the Light Brigade prematurely. It will also keep you from trying to get information into the proceeding that you think your attorney has forgotten.

Make sure your attorney has a Witness Outline Form, a Data Sheet, and a Subject Profile For Deposition Form on each person either side may call as a witness. This will give your attorney a solid basis for questioning.
Strategic Interaction

Understanding Strategic Interaction between you and the other individuals in your case will strengthen your position because you will make better decisions. If you assume that the other side will always make the move you fear most, it will lead you to expect that the other will never cooperate.

This will encourage you to be absent from the real battle while fighting an imagined war in your mind, and ultimately caring more for short term wins and discounting the consequences for the future. It is never safe to assume that the only priority of the other side is that they are "out to get you."

The opposition has many pressures and priorities of which you are unaware. The continuing opportunity of interaction is necessary for the development of cooperation, but is not sufficient if the other side is never encouraged to participate. Your efforts will be judged by their results.
Strategy: Short Range and Long Range Planning
As Commander-in-Chief, devise your strategy! Establish the needs of your side and your desire and right to engage your opposition.
Enlist your troops and mobilize their skills to mount your campaign! Survey the terrain and your financial ability to gain ground while still protecting your side from stray enemy bullets or friendly fire.
Gather your data ammunition, load your guns and prepare to deploy your professional armaments, such as attorneys and detectives. Present a solid front to the enemy, observers, and mediators.
Once fully supplied and supported, execute your battle plan offensive. Shore up any weakened defensive positions and maintain damage control while your attorney directs the legal maneuvers.
Contain any battle damage while building a well-constructed case to win the war being waged before the mediator or judge.
Establish a lasting plan to maintain peace.
Your strategy should not be etched in stone. Just almost.
Your strategy must be flexible enough to bend rather than break.
Your strategy must be solid enough in its entirety that it will not collapse over the long term.
You can not consider making changes or actually implementing changes in your strategy when you are tired, hungry or frightened.
Strategy: Fighting Battles or Playing Games

In 1994 two Americans and a German won the Nobel Prize in economics for work identifying that companies do business, governments make decisions and armies fight battles much the way people play poker and chess. Understanding the systems of competition and cooperation are tremendously important to the legal battle.

You can handle yourself and your opposition with less work and more success if you understand how each of you thinks.

Discussion of strategy here is conducted with the assumption that you are dealing with a person from a social group you understand. Americans negotiate and cooperate best with other Americans. This would be true of any individuals from the same country because there are many situations and attitudes that are already understood by both. Discussion with a person from another country may be complicated by lack of foundation of information about the customs, laws and accepted attitudes by one or both participants.

Understanding Strategic Interaction between you and the other individuals in your case will strengthen your position because you will make better decisions. If you assume that the other side will always make the move you fear most it will lead you to expect that the other will never cooperate. This will encourage you to be absent from the real battle while fighting an imagined war in your mind, ultimately caring more for short term wins and discounting the consequences for the future.

It is never safe to assume that the only priority of the other side is that they are “out to get you." The opposition has many pressures and priorities of which you are unaware. The continuing opportunity of interaction is necessary for the development of cooperation, but is not sufficient if the other side is never encouraged to participate.

Information Gathering and Record Keeping

The pace of progress in a lawsuit may be determined by the principals' acceptance or rejection of systems they view as too expensive or overly complicated. When you wage war, you need adequate armaments. In our day-to-day life, some of us use computers to earn a living, and some of us operate heavy equipment.

Your intelligence and ability to reason things out will always be your best weapon. As you decide what you can and cannot afford, remember, "Stone knives and bear skins in the hands of the right person can win against all the high-tech equipment in the world." It makes the battle much more difficult for the under equipped, but I have witnessed low-tech passion win against Hi-Tech snobbery.
The Dark Side

The weapons of this war are identical to the weapons of any war. A weapon can be used for defense and offense. Any weapon can be used against the warrior who brought it to the battle. Because of this problem, not everyone agrees with the wisdom of keeping a log or diary.

Generally speaking, it is good to keep a detailed record of what goes on. Be careful how zealously you represent the wrongs the other side has inflicted on you. Exercise caution when deciding to whom you will present either knowledge that the log exists or the log itself. There are evaluators, mediators, judges, and attorneys for the other side who feel that meticulous record keeping is "evidence" that a person is compulsive, controlling or obsessed.

When we asked evaluators, mediators, judges, and attorneys for the other side who felt uncomfortable with meticulous record keeping; "What should a person do who is dealing with inconsistencies, false accusations, and behaviors that threaten the well being of one's family?" The room gets very quiet and no reasonable answer is forthcoming.

Often you will hear it stated that the log is won't be accepted as evidence at court, so its a waste of time to do all that work. Even if the court will not accept your log as evidence is amazing how often an expert witness or psychologist will take time to look them over. Indexing will improve the chances of a professional examining your work.

The psychologist may be more interested in how you view the problems than in what was happening at any specific time. For this reason it may be a good idea to have someone you trust read intermittent entries in your log. This person would be able to tell you if you sound accusatory or vengeful in your entries.

If your friend tells you there is a problem in your log read Lawsuit Security.
Confidentiality - Documentation

All record keeping documentation may be subject to the process of DISCOVERY. Therefore, it is important to decide how and what you will document, and who is aware of what you are doing and what documentation exists.

In the event that documentation must be presented for inspection to the opposition, you may not feel too concerned if it is not easy to hear, read or sort. Once information is entered into the case and is filed with the court, it becomes public record. Public records may be viewed by anyone who knows where to find them and wishes to inspect or copy them.
Crucial Data to Record

Any contact with the opposition or the oppositions employees.
Incidents and statements involving potential witnesses.
Money spent for attorney, private investigator, or other professional or expert witness.
Anything else you think is important.
Simplicity and Speed

You can devise a code for your log which will facilitate the making of entries and expedite compilation of data.

This type of diary or log may be subject to the process of Discovery by the other side. It is best not to mention its existence to anyone except your attorney.

When the time comes, this system of coding will help you and others (mediators, psychologists, judges, expert witnesses, etc.) find key information quickly and easily.

To facilitate the process of identifying what is really important to the professional who may see the log, check with your attorney to make sure that the timing on any information you give the professional is ok for the other side to see now. Copy the entire log to substantiate the information.

Highlight the important sentences with a light blue marker. Don't over do the highlighting or too much won't be read either. If the professional finds your highlighted sentence important, the professional can read more.

One of the many not so obvious messages your log can convey to the reader is your stability and the normalcy with which you live your life.
Admissible Evidence

One of the important reasons to document is to produce evidence. No one will have the time or interest to look at all the evidence you produce. Therefore, it is important to gather everything you can; sort out what is of real value to your case; and assemble it in the most compact and easy to understand format available. The important question is, "What is Admissible Evidence?" The real answer is, "Any evidence the judge wishes to see." The judge may properly receive only admissible evidence but need not permit a party to introduce all admissible evidence. Within discretion, the judge may exclude otherwise admissible evidence when the court determines that its possible value is outweighed by negative factors such as undue consumption of time.
Confidentiality-Equipment

Any equipment or documentation proving you purchased or rented equipment may be subject to the process of DISCOVERY. Therefore, it is important to decide how you will attain equipment and what you will do with it and who is aware of what you are doing. In the event that the court is made aware that you purchased equipment that is illegal in your jurisdiction, it would be difficult to prove that once you had the equipment that you did not use it.
Specific Equipment
Appointment Book

If you, like many business people, are already in the habit of working with an appointment book to better organize your time, designate a place each day in your existing system for updating the important notes about your case. Many business people use time systems or appointment books for their work and personal activities. If you are using this kind of system with success, adding your "contact log" information to it is an excellent idea.
Calendar

A calendar with room to make simple notes on a daily basis may be adequate.

Many blank forms to help you gain and maintain control in the `Case Management Forms for Litigation.'
Notebook

Small notebooks are easy to carry around and handy to make notes in. However, because of their size, they are also easy to lose and forget. The notebook method is great if you have clean penmanship and good follow-up skills. Photocopy your pages regularly and put these copies in a safe place.
Fill-In Form

Design a fill-in form that will fit in a standard, three-ring binder or can be reduced, using a copy machine, to fit in your appointment book. Use a form that allows you to insert data quickly and easily. It will be necessary to photocopy entries on a regular basis and put these copies in a safe place.
Tape Recorder

If your penmanship is poor, make cassette tapes of information you wish to record. Be sure to label and safeguard your recorded tapes. Eventually, you will need to have the tapes transcribed. Duplicate these regularly and put the copies in a safe place. Pocket recorders are useful during face-to-face verbal communication with the other side, your attorney, detective, or for making notes to yourself. NOTE: The speed of the recorder determines the quality of the recording. Record on the highest speed possible on the machine you are using. Duplication or transcription require clear clean originals.
Computer

Because many of the entries in your contact log will be repetitive, you may find that a computer is the ideal method of record keeping. You can design your own format, or use our example. The program should allow easy reference by name, date, or event. Whether you set up your own system or use an established program, there are several types of information important enough for you to record. If you are familiar with computers, keeping a contact log will be much easier for you. The easier it is to keep the log complete and current, the more valid the document will be when you need it. Pale Horse Publishing has software to assist with document generation and log keeping.
Caller ID

This is a service offered by the telephone companies in some areas that allows you to see the name and telephone number of anyone calling your telephone. There is a blocking service for people who do not want their number to show on Caller ID. You may or should subscribe to both services.
Camera, 35 MM

Use a 35mm camera that records the date, or date and time, of the photo. The advantage of 24-expo¬sure film over 36-exposure is that it is faster to complete the roll for processing. Usually 400 speed film is adequate for indoors and 200 for outdoors. If your photo skills are limited, check out a book at the library and read about the basics of taking good pictures.
Camera, Video

A video camera can be the second most valuable piece of equipment. It is small and very efficient with a price under $1,000.
Fax Machine

Fax machines allow you to send a copy of a photo or document over the telephone lines in seconds. Most business offices, including doctors, attorneys, and detectives, have "fax ability." If you are unable to purchase a fax machine and you find it necessary to get data to someone who has a fax, most copy centers offer fax service at a reasonable price. Many computers have modems and software that allow you to fax directly from your home or business computer.
Pager

Pagers offer many of the advantages of the mobile telephone with much less expense. Business people, homemakers, and students use them with great success for keeping in touch.
Telephone Answering Machine

Connecting an answering machine to your telephone can accomplish several things: allow you to include a message telling the operator that you are willing to accept collect calls from your allies, and offer an alternative number to your pager or another telephone on which you can be reached in case of an emergency. In some states it is prohibited to record conversations on the telephone without the express permission of all parties. The exception to this rule may be messages left on answering machine. These may be admissible in court since the person did know they were leaving their words on the machine. Keep important tapes in a safe place.

NOTE: Double-check the laws in your state as to how, where, and when you may record conversations with other people.
Telephone, Mobile

A mobile telephone gives your attorney and your allies access to you. It does not restrict you to specific addresses or location. When you are at a specific address for an extended length of time, either call-forward the calls from your mobile number to that phone, or leave the mobile phone on its charger. Some of the mobile communications systems have a "Follow Me" service.
Telephone, Recorder on Phone

There are special suction cups and plug-in phone devices to make the process of recording easier and of a higher quality. Check with a dependable authority as to the legality in your state.