Tag: procedures

What Happens Next? Steps 6 and 7

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STEP 6:  PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

After depositions, the case is usually prepared to announce a ready for trial notice, which is then sent to the court.  The court has 30 to 60 days from filing of a “Notice Ready for Trial” to send a pretrial conference order and date.  At that conference the actual trial date will be set depending on the length of time needed for trial.  This could be anywhere from two months to six months from the pre-trial conference date.

STEP 7:  TRIAL

Once the trial date is set, the fun begins.  Fun you say?  Yes.  If after all this we have not worked out your case, you cannot wait for your day in court!

What Happens Next? Steps 4 and 5

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Step 4:  Mediation

Mediation is required in all filed cases that do not have agreement on all terms.  Mediation usually takes six to eight hours.  When the mediation process occurs in your case you will receive more information from us outlining its particulars.

STEP 5:  DEPOSITIONS

After mediation, the parties often conduct depositions.  While it is frequently better to do depositions before mediation, many attorneys attempt mediation before deposition because  most depositions cause the parties to become defensive, argumentative and vengeful.  Depositions require coordinating a minimum of four parties’ calendars, causing it to be difficult to schedule.

The final two steps in the legal process involve the court trial.  Our next blog goes into greater detail on these steps, which may or may not be needed, depending on the case.

What Happens Next? Step 3

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When an uncontested matter becomes contested an additional retainer is required and the process called “discovery” begins.  The Florida Rules governing these matters requires a lengthy list of financial documents to be provided by both sides.  The law generally gives each side 30 or 45 days to provide these documents.  It is common for people to require more time in gathering these documents.  Sometimes people refuse to provide them so they try to ignore the request.

Discovery can involve subpoenas, requests to produce various documents and evidence and depositions.  All of these things can take a few months to complete.  If people have a pretty simple financial picture, discovery is generally completed within two months and we are ready to go to mediation.

Both depositions and mediations are explained in our next blog, coming soon!

What Happens Next? Step 2

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:

STEP 2:  PROPOSALS OR PETITIONS

Approximately ten business days from being retained in an uncontested matter we generate the first proposed settlement agreement.  In contested matters we usually have the petition ready for your review.  Sometimes a couple of drafts are necessary before anything is ready to be sent to an outside party.  This time period can be short or lengthy depending on the complexity of the case.

In an uncontested matter after the draft proposal has been approved it is forwarded to the opposing party or the opposing attorney.    Occasionally it is returned to us signed and we can move forward, while often the other side wants items changed in the proposal.  You and the attorney will go over the requested changes and decide what can be accommodated.  From there we will decide to either file and move ahead in the legal process or to make other proposals or accommodations.  This is often when an uncontested matter turns contested.

Our next blog will describe the process of Discovery and what it means for you—stay informed!

 

What Happens Next, Step 1

Posted by J.J. Dahl on

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:

STEP 1: CASE PLAN

Simple cases can be done in two months or less.  More complicate cases can be six to eight months, with fiercely contested or complex cases taking a year or more.

Once you have paid your retainer and returned your signed retainer agreement, the firm is officially retained and we begin working on your case.  The first few days involve data entry and clerical work including creating a physical file and a computer file.  After this we begin generating a case plan.  This case plan is created by the attorney and shared with the entire staff so everyone knows what direction we are going in your case and what your goals include.

Be sure to check our next blog to find out about Step Two:  Proposals or Petitions.