trial preparation
Pre-court legal work
Trial preparation is the work done before a court case begins—gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, researching legal precedents, drafting arguments, and organizing documents.
Lawyers spend far more time in trial preparation than in actual courtroom proceedings: The defense team spent months in trial preparation.
Thorough preparation often determines a case's outcome.
- voir direPretrial juror examination
- witness listPeople called to testify
- witness prepReadying someone for testimony
- affidavitsSworn written legal statements
- pleadingsFormal litigation documents
subpoena · smoking gun · opening statement · cross-examination · chain of custody · expert testimony · forensic analysis · filing deadlines · burden of proof · stipulations · court rules · closing argument · rebuttal · litigation · witness · courtroom · motions · briefing
- criminal justicearrest, jail, court, prison, crime
- legal costsattorney fees, court fees, court costs, legal fees, filing fees
- prosecutionprosecutor, district attorney, DA, prosecution, public prosecutors
- paralegal tasksparalegals, legal clerks, legal research, court filings, case management
- Stasi operationsStasi, state security, secret police, informants, political arrests
- legal educationlaw schools, legal education, law school, moot court, law degree
trial preparationtrial
Judicial examination of claims
courtroom proceedings · sentencing · judgment · appeal · verdict
trial preparationunpreparedness
Lacking readiness beforehand
winging it · improvisation · preparedness · malpractice · disorganization
trial preparationsettlement
Resolved dispute or colony
out-of-court settlement · plea bargaining · plea bargain · mediation · arbitration