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Vault Law Resource Center

Litigation

Overview

In a litigation practice, lawyers represent clients in a range of disputes, which can be either civil or criminal. Depending on the case, litigators will counsel clients through the pleadings stage, at trial, in alternative dispute resolution, or during internal investigations. Among the tasks that a litigator may perform are researching issues and writing memorandums; doing such discovery work as completing document review, drafting and responding to pleadings, engaging in meet and confers, and taking or defending depositions; preparing for and going to trial; conducting internal investigations; drafting and submitting amicus briefs on behalf of a client or organization, etc. Litigation is a broad career path that offers opportunities to work in a various areas, including—but not limited to—antitrust, appellate, bankruptcy, criminal law, environmental law, general commercial, insurance, housing, human rights, labor and employment, media, patents and intellectual property, product liability and mass torts, securities, white collar, and more. Those within large law firms will often practice general commercial litigation through which they advise companies on their litigation matters. At some law firms, litigators will operate as generalists, taking on a range of matters and not specializing in a specific subspecialty. Many litigators apply to become judicial law clerks to gain insight into the judicial process.

Top Ranked Firms




Practice Area Q&A’s

Kirkland & Ellis

Evelyn Cai & Grace Brier

Kobre & Kim

Daniel Zaheer

MoloLamken LLP

Walter H Hawes IV

Paul, Weiss

Jessica Carey & Jaren Janghorbani

Susman Godfrey

Krysta Kauble Pachman & Ryan Caughey

Weil

Chantale Fiebig

Wilkinson Stekloff

Pirzada Ahmad & Caroline Li

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Ryan Hartman & Yiqing Shi

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Carmine Boccuzzi

Jones Day

Kapri Saunders

MoloLamken LLP

Alex Eynon

Paul, Weiss

Brad S. Karp & Karen L. Dunn

Susman Godfrey

Geng Chen & Andres Healy

Wilkinson Stekloff

Moira Penza & Anastasia Pastan

Advice from Vault Law

Practice Area Insights: Just What Is "General Commercial Litigation?"

Practice Area Insights: Just What Is "General Commercial Litigation?"

By Vault Law Editors