Colorado Civil Pretrial Handbook is a practitioner’s guide to navigating the entire civil pretrial process, from initial client contact through trial. Following the chronology of the litigation process, the author carefully analyzes the requirements of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, along with other relevant legal authorities, and provides helpful tips on practice and strategy that she developed in her own practice. In addition to explaining the basics, she points out discrepancies and possible traps for the practitioner to avoid.
This essential book will answer all your questions about initiating a case, serving process, preparing and filing pleadings, conducting written discovery and taking depositions, and preparing for trial. It includes ample citations to Colorado rules, cases, and statutes—and nearly 100 forms.
A valuable tool for all civil practitioners—everyone from young lawyers just starting out to the seasoned practitioner looking for a thorough reference for the entire pretrial process—this book will help you:
Draft pleadings and discovery requests that are understandable and comply with the Colorado rules.
Understand how and on whom a complaint must be served.
Strategize discovery to maximize results and minimize the cost to clients.
Avoid fatal errors by knowing what needs to be done before filing certain kinds of cases.
Learn how to deal with default judgments.
Identify and avoid ethical problems.
Understand how to file or oppose a pretrial motion, the timing of the response and reply, and how to set it for hearing.
The companion CD contains the entire book in searchable PDF format, plus nearly 100 forms!
The Revised Edition includes updated statutory and case law, updated forms, and new discussions of the following topics:
Performing a conflict of interest check
Ex parte communications with current or former employees of a company
When fees and costs can be awarded upon dismissal of a case
Attorney liability for referrals to other attorneys
Claim preclusion and issue preclusion
Exhaustion of administrative remedies
Offers of settlement
Defending against a default judgment
The pretrial timeline for cases proceeding under Rule 16
Protecting draft reports of expert witnesses
Handling inadvertent disclosure of privileged or work product protected documents
NEW FORMS: Plaintiff’s Offer of Settlement and Defendant’s Offer of Settlement
CH 1: BRINGING SUIT—PRE-FILING CONSIDERATIONS, REQUIREMENTS, AND STRATEGY Setting Up the Attorney-Client Relationship • Factual and Legal Investigation • Declining Representation • Parties • Capacity • Actions By and Against Partnerships and Partners • Minors and Persons Under Incapacity • Unknown Parties • Notice of Claim • Certificate of Review • Construction Defect Notice Requirements • Security for Costs • Special Requirements in Employment Cases, Actions Based on Dishonored Checks, and Landlord-Tenant Actions • Demand Letters • Ethics of Ghost-Writing • Ethics and Pretrial Publicity • Ethics When Retained by Insurer to Represent Insured • Advising Clients About ADR • AND FORMS!
CH 2: SERVICE OF PROCESS—SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT Jurisdictional Structure of Colorado Courts • Procedures in State District Court and County Court • Summons • Complaint • Amending the Complaint • Return and Proof of Service • Answer and Appearance • Delay Reduction Orders • Class Actions • Procedures in Small Claims Court • Technical Requirements • E-Filing • Ethical Considerations • AND FORMS!
CH 3: PRE-ANSWER MOTIONS AND STRATEGY Notice to Insurer • Preservation of Evidence • Motions to Dismiss • Challenging Service, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, or Personal Jurisdiction • Other Grounds for Motions to Dismiss • Defendant Entitled to Costs and Attorney Fees • Forum Non Conveniens • Consolidating Multidistrict Litigation • Disqualifying the Judge • Removal • Ethical Considerations • AND FORMS!
CH 4: PLEADINGS, MOTIONS, AND OTHER FILED PAPERS Entry of Appearance • Answers in District Court and County Court • Motion Practice in District Court and County Court • Motion for Sanctions • Interpleader • Intervention • AND FORMS!
CH 5: DEFAULT—PLEADINGS AND STRATEGY Default Procedure • Prosecuting a Default Judgment • Defending Against a Default Judgment • AND FORMS!
CH 6: INJUNCTIONS Temporary Restraining Orders (Standards for Issuance, Pleadings, Notice, Hearing, Entry of Temporary Restraining Order Without Notice, Security, Form of Order, Duration and Scope) • Preliminary Injunctions (Standards for Issuance, Notice, Security, Recovery of the Bond, Hearing, Form of Order) • Discovery in an Injunction Setting • Evidence • AND FORMS!
CH 7: CASE MANAGEMENT ORDERS, PLANS, AND PROCEDURES Non-Simplified Procedure in District Court (Rule 16) • Non-Domestic Simplified Procedure in District Court (Rule 16.1) • Domestic Relations Cases in District Court (Rule 16.2) • County Court • Request for Absentee Testimony • AND FORMS!
CH 8: DISCLOSURES AND DISCOVERY Disclosures in State District Court and County Court • Informal Discovery • Using Releases to Obtain Information from Third Parties • Interviews with Third-Party Lay Witnesses • Formal Discovery in State District Court • E-Discovery • Privilege Log • Trial Preparation Materials • Interrogatories • Physical and Mental Examination of Persons • Requests for Production and for Inspection • Requests for Admission • Depositions • Motions to Compel • Motions for Protective Orders • Formal Discovery in County Court • Out-of-State Depositions • Appellate Rights on Discovery Decisions • Ethical Considerations • AND FORMS!
CH 9: SUMMARY JUDGMENTS AND DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS Determining Whether to File a Summary Judgment Motion • Summary Judgment Standard • Timing of Motion • Affidavits • Responding to a Summary Judgment Motion • Oral Argument • Determination of a Question of Law • Declaratory Judgment
CH 10: TRIAL MANAGEMENT ORDERS, CERTIFICATES, AND PROCEDURES Trial Management Orders and Procedures in Non-Simplified Procedure District Court Cases • Trial Management in Simplified Procedure District Court Cases • Trial Management Certificates in Domestic Cases • Procedures in County Court Cases • AND FORMS!
Mary Price Birk is a partner in the Denver law office of Baker & Hostetler LLP, where she practices complex civil and employment law litigation and serves as co-chair of the firm’s National Employment Litigation Practice Team. Her practice involves counseling and representing domestic and international employers in a variety of areas—including class and collective actions, products liability, and employment disputes—and appearing before multiple administrative agencies and state and federal courts.
Ms. Birk has also defended hundreds of personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in state and federal courts. These cases have involved various laws, such as products liability, negligence, breach of warranty, dram shop, and admiralty/ maritime law.
Ms. Birk maintains an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell for preeminence in her field and her ethical standards, and she was named a Colorado “Super Lawyer” in 2006 and 2007.
Ms. Birk serves on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Judicial Institute and chairs that organization’s Family Law Committee. She is a member of the American, Federal, Nevada, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Denver, and Colorado Women’s Bar Associations. She is also a member of the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association (Defense Section) and the Defense Research Institute. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Denver Chapter of the Rhone-Brackett American Inns of Court, of which she is a former president.
Ms. Birk has devoted many hours of service to several community organizations. In 2006 and 2007, she was honored by the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center for her superior volunteer efforts with that group. In addition, the Colorado Bar Association named Ms. Birk as a Fellow of the Colorado Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the CBA, which promotes the advancement of jurisprudence, the administration of justice, and the dissemination of educational information to practicing attorneys and the general public.
Format: 7x10" Softcover with CD Copyright: 2011 Pages: 476 ISBN: 978-1-932779-84-4 Publisher: Bradford Publishing Co.
