Represent Yourself in Court: Prepare & Try a Winning Civil Case

by Paul Bergman JD, Sara J. Berman

Overview

How to prepare and present a winning civil court case

Many disputes are too big for small claims court but too small to justify a lawyer’s fee. Fortunately, if you’re willing to learn the courtroom ropes, you can successfully handle your own case from start to finish.

Represent Yourself in Court breaks the pretrial and trial process down into easy-to-understand steps. Armed with these clear and thorough instructions, you’ll be well prepared to:

• draft and file court papers
• get help from an attorney or legal coach
• obtain and prepare your evidence, including social media postings
• handle depositions
• line up, prepare, and examine witnesses
• present an opening statement
• make and respond to objections
• pick a jury if necessary, and
• deal with the court clerk and judge

Whether you’re a plaintiff or a defendant, this book will help you handle a bankruptcy, divorce, landlord-tenant dispute, breach of contract case, small business dispute—or any other civil lawsuit.

The 10th edition is completely updated to include the latest rules and court procedures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781413329940
Publisher:	NOLO
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	600
File size:	35 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Paul Bergman is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law and a recipient of two UniversityDistinguished Teaching Awards. His books include Nolo’s Deposition Handbook (with Moore, Nolo); Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies (Andrews & McMeel); Trial Advocacy: Inferences, Arguments, Technique s (with Moore and Binder, West Publishing Co.); Trial Advocacy in a Nutshell (West Publishing Co.); Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case (with Berman, Nolo); The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System (with Berman, Nolo); Depositions in a Nutshell (with Moore, Binder, and Light, West Publishing); Lawyers as Counselors: A Client-Centered Approach (with Binder, Tremblay, and Weinstein, West Publishing); Cracking the Case Method (Vandeplas Publishing). He has also published numerous articles in law journals and regularly gives presentations on how law and lawyers are portrayed in film.

Sara J. Berman received her law degree from UCLA. She is a Professor at the Concord UniversitySchool of Law, and a founder of the PASS Online Bar Review (www.passlaw.com). She has authored several bar review course texts and legal articles, and has lectured extensively for BarPassers, West Bar Review, and the Practicing Law Institute. She teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, criminal justice, legal writing and analysis, corporations law, and community property law. She is also the coauthor of Nolo’s Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case.

Table of Contents

1. Going It Alone in Court 2. The Courthouse and the Courtroom 3. Starting Your Case 4. Pretrial Procedures 5. Investigating Your Case 6. Settlement 7. Pretrial Motions 8. Proving Your Case at Trial: The Plaintiff's Perspective 9. Proving Your Case at Trial: The Defendant's Perspective 10. Selecting the Decision Maker 11. Opening Statement 12. Direct Examination 13. Cross-Examination 14. Closing Argument 15. Exhibits 16. Basic Rules of Evidence 17. Making and Responding to Objections 18. Organizing a Trial Notebook 19. Expert Witnesses 20. When Your Trial Ends: Judgments and Appeals 21. Representing Yourself in Family Court 22. Representing Yourself in Bankruptcy Court 23. Help Beyond the Book: People, Places, and Publications Glossary Index

Interviews

Represent Yourself in Court is a step-by-step guide to civil (non-criminal) litigation. In plain language and filled with examples and sample court forms, the book describes rules and procedures from the initial stages of a lawsuit to the final appeal. The book will help readers determine whether they have a claim that is suitable for court resolution and, if so, how to prepare and argue the case. If you’re representing yourself, the book is an indispensable guide to the policies, rules, and procedures in civil courts. If you have an attorney, the book will help you become an educated client, who understands the language your lawyer is speaking and can participate meaningfully in important legal decisions.

Editorial Reviews

An excellent resource that outlines what’s involved in representing yourself in court—from presenting evidence to the rules of cross examination.” New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Nolo publications…guide people simply through the how, when, where and why of the law." The Washington Post

From the Publisher