How Can I Find the Right Lawyer to Defend a Civil Lawsuit?

The first thing you need to do is identify the kind of law that the civil lawsuit involves.  Not every attorney who defends civil lawsuits will have expertise in the subject matter you are dealing with.  Here is a quick guide to the most common issues you may face as a defendant in a civil suit, and what kind of attorney you should be looking for:
Employment claims- discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour violations, and other clains arising from termination.  In this case you will want to find a lawyer or law firm with employment law experience, in the state in which you were sued.
Claims for breach of a business contract- usually these are business-to-business, but can also be claims by customers or clients against your business. In this case you should look for a lawyer or law firm who handles business litigation or business disputes.
Claims for personal injuries (physical or emotional), whether by an employee, a customer or any other individual.  Your first stop in this case should be your insurance company.  If it is a covered claim, they will have attorneys to recommend.  If you are not insured, you want to find a lawyer or law firm who states that they provide personal injury defense.

if you have never been through this before, being served with a civil lawsuit can be terrifying. There are a few things you should know:

• You have twenty days from the date you were served to respond.  This is often not the same date as when the lawsuit was filed.  Whatever the nature of the claims, you should contact an attorney right away.  If you miss the 20 day response deadline, you can lose by default.
• Most of the time once you have a lawyer involved they can reach an agreement with the other side to extend the 20 day period to allow time to determine the best way to respond.
• You should also be careful to preserve any documents or evidence you have relating to the dispute, whether you think it is helpful or not.  Once you are on notice of a lawsuit, you have a duty to preserve relevant evidence, and courts can impose serious sanctions if anything is lost or destroyed after that.

Above all, though you should act promptly in getting legal advice, there is no need to panic.  The documents you were served were drafted to look as bad for you as they possibly can, but you will have an opportunity to tell your side of the story, and your attorney can help put the best foot forward to either defend or settle the dispute.


Learn more here about what to expect as a defendant in a civil lawsuit.

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