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 Near the time of Trial Once you have survived the sometimes three, four or even five years of waiting, the endless legal expenses, the number of days missed from work and the other inconveniences of a lawsuit, and you have survived the Motion of Summary Judgment portion, the end is in sight. However, before going to trial there are several concerns which you may want to understand and pay particular attention to at this stage, although they can apply at earlier stages also. Costs of Trial and Preparation. Any party to a lawsuit will now be asked to spend a significant amount of money in time and expenses, above what has already been paid, once a trial is near. Many expenses are deferred until this stage, because many cases will settle during the pre-trial or discovery phases of the case. A trial, however, will be a constant daily ordeal from several weeks beforehand until it is over, and your attorney will be spending his/her time almost non-stop on your case. This means your legal bill will be huge. Because of the legal expenses, many cases settle at this stage, and one ought to consider such a resolution. Trial preparation also typically includes the depositions of expert witnesses and charts, diagrams, computer models and all of the other items necessary to help explain your case, and its argument, to the jury at trial. Expert witness fees can range into the thousands of dollars for a half day of preparation or testimony. You will be asked to pay all of these expenses at this stage, in some cases, and you ought to be prepared for this unanticipated expense.
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