HomeLegal:  Understanding Litigation Definitions And Terms

Terms Common In Litigation Can Be Understood

Legal filings can hold a great deal of confusion for those unfamiliar with legalese. An understanding of litigation terms can help you to better understand your legal situation and better decipher the complicated terms and conditions laid out in most legal documents. A great deal of legal terms make simple concepts seem all the more confusing. But when you learn the meaning of the complex terminology you can better help yourself whether you’re a student pursuing law, a litigant in a class action lawsuit or even a law professional that just needs to brush up on rarely used terminology.

Are you liable for compensatory or punitive damages? Common litigation terms like these are still quite confusing to those with no background in law. If you are an attorney, it may be a good idea present clients with a list of definitions of legal terms that may be used in their particular case. This can help to make them feel more empowered and less helpless before and during legal proceedings. Those in class action lawsuits without individual counsel can would also do well to examine the definitions of some legal terms in order to understand what actions will be taken on your behalf. You can even determine if you want to participate at all or opt out.

Litigation Terms Can Be Deciphered

Legal researchers often need a dictionary or handbook of litigation terms on hand when reviewing past cases. There is often vast relevance and precedence in past judgments that relate to pending or ongoing court proceedings. It is virtually a given that no one person (neither researcher nor law professional) has complete knowledge of every legal term ever used. This is why having access to legal terminology and the definitions for such is constantly growing in importance to more than just legal experts. Especially considering the number of cases that are coming into the court system every year.

Some of the most common litigation terms can be broken down into terms easy for the layman to understand. Through the use of glossaries, dictionaries and other resources, many people can gain a basic understanding of legal terms that will be used in civil and federal cases. Those going to small claims court or those seeking to represent themselves in proceedings may need to pay special attention to litigation terms and procedures in order to be successful in winning a case.

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