Course Overview: The Process of Litigation

Vocabulary flashcards covering key legal concepts from the litigation course.

Litigation

The process of taking legal action or conducting a lawsuit.

Pleading

Formal statements by the parties in a case that outline their claims and defenses.

Discovery

The pre-trial phase in a lawsuit where each party investigates the other's facts through various means.

Summary Judgment

A legal decision made by a court without a full trial, typically when there are no disputes of material fact.

Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear and decide a case.

Res Judicata

A legal doctrine that prevents a party from relitigating a claim that has already been judged on the merits.

Collateral Estoppel

A legal doctrine that prevents an issue that has already been judged from being re-litigated in a different case.

Arbitration

A method of resolving disputes outside of court, where an arbitrator makes a binding decision.

Fee-Shifting

A legal principle that allows the prevailing party to recover costs and attorney fees from the losing party.

Contingency Fee

A payment structure where a lawyer receives a percentage of the settlement or judgment amount only if the case is won.

Declaratory Relief

A legal determination by a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the parties.

Injunction

A court order requiring a person to do or cease doing a specific action.

Civil Rights

The rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

Twiqbal Standard

A legal standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Iqbal and Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, requiring that a complaint's factual allegations be sufficient to raise a plausible claim.