Courts
Evidence is not the same thing as being right
A civil dispute is decided on what can be shown to a decision-maker, which is why the strongest sense of…
· 4 min read
Courts
What a claim involves, how long it takes, and what it costs to bring.
20 articles · page 1 of 2
Courts
The real cost of a small claim is counted in hours
Simplified procedures make the fees modest and the paperwork manageable, but the resource a claimant actually spends is time, and it is rarely accounted for honestly at the start.
By Anjali Raghunathan · · 4 min read
Courts
A limitation period runs quietly and it can end a good claim
Time limits operate independently of merit, they begin without notice, and once one has expired the…
· 4 min read
Courts
Most disputes settle, and the process is built to make that happen
The overwhelming majority of civil claims end by agreement rather than by decision, and a great deal of…
· 4 min read
Courts
The months between starting a claim and standing up in a hearing
A civil claim is a sequence of stages with deadlines attached, and the hearing that people picture occupies…
· 4 min read
Courts
Winning a case and being paid are two separate projects
A judgment declares what is owed; collecting it is a further process with its own applications, costs and…
· 4 min read
Courts
Bringing a claim is a decision about exposure as much as about merit
Who pays the legal costs of a dispute is one of the sharpest differences between legal systems, and it…
· 4 min read
Courts
Mediation is a negotiation with a structure, not a hearing without a judge
A mediator has no power to decide anything, and that absence of power is the feature which makes the…
· 4 min read
Courts
An appeal is a review of a decision, not a second attempt at the case
Appellate courts generally correct errors rather than rehear evidence, which is why losing on the facts is…
· 4 min read
Courts
A court can make allowances for someone without a lawyer, but only so far
Procedural rules apply to everybody, and the help a judge may properly give an unrepresented party stops…
· 4 min read
Courts
What happens before a claim is issued often decides how it goes
The exchange of letters that precedes proceedings is not preliminary noise; in many systems it is a stage…
· 4 min read
Courts
Some orders exist to hold a situation still until it can be decided
Interim measures are not early victories; they are provisional steps taken on incomplete evidence to…
· 4 min read