A Massachusetts civil litigation attorney is an attorney who practices civil law in civil court, as opposed to an attorney who practices criminal law in a criminal court. Civil law is the set of laws that address wrongful behaviors of one party that result in some injury or harm to another individual or other private party. Civil laws also cover other administrative and family matters.
In general, most civil law cases that are heard in Massachusetts are tort cases. Although the exact definition of what constitutes a tort varies by state, the legal term “tort” in Massachusetts refers to a civil wrong in which one person inflicts damage, injury, or harm to another person.
Tort violations may occur either due to the intentional actions of a party or the negligent actions or inaction of a party. Once again, if a tort is committed, Massachusetts law grants the victim of the tort, known as the plaintiff, the legal right to civilly sue the person who allegedly harmed them.
Violations of tort laws in Massachusetts result in many different types of civil lawsuits, which result in numerous types of civil cases being heard. Examples of the most common types of cases heard in civil court that pertain to civil laws include:
- Cases involving the negligent actions of another person, such as personal injury cases based on negligence;
- Cases involving the fraudulent actions of another person;
- Cases involving intentional physical torts such as civil battery or assault;
- Cases involving intentional property torts such as conversion, larceny, or other theft crimes;
- Cases involving emotional torts, such as defamation, libel, slander, and/or invasion of privacy.
Massachusetts also has a special statute concerning torts, which is the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act (“MTCA”). The MTCA allows claims against the government for negligence by its public employees by stating that public employees can be held liable for injury, loss of property, or personal death caused by their negligence, wrongful acts, or omissions.
In addition to the above cases involving injuries to one’s person or property, the other major types of civil cases that make up a significant portion of Massachusetts’s civil court’s caseload are cases regarding family law and administrative matters. These cases include dealing with legal issues, such as:
- Visitation and custody of children;
- Advisory matters;
- Spousal maintenance or alimony;
- Child support;
- The loss of parental rights;
- Legal guardianship;
- Paternity and adoption;
- Child abuse and child neglect matters.
When to Hire a Civil Litigation Attorney?
In general, it is advised to consult with an attorney as soon as possible. An experienced and local Massachusetts lawyer will be most familiar with Massachusetts’s civil laws and statutes, as well as the entire civil procedure process involved in suing a party for damages.
As such, they can advise you as to your best course of legal action and end up saving you time and money if consulted early in the process. Specifically, an attorney will be able to assist you in identifying the party responsible for your damages and how you can hold them responsible for their tortious actions. Further, if your civil matter is a family matter, an attorney will be familiar with the laws and civil process involved in pursuing those matters as well.
What to Expect from Your Civil Law Attorney?
As far as what you can expect when working with an attorney for civil lawsuits, you should expect the attorney to assist you by handling all of the major aspects of the civil lawsuit. The exact aspects that an attorney will handle will be dependent on the type of lawsuit that you are involved in.
An attorney can assist you in all of the stages of a civil lawsuit in Massachusetts, including:
- Pre-lawsuit Phase: During the pre-lawsuit phase, an attorney will meet with you to understand your case and attempt to resolve your case without the necessity of filing a lawsuit.
- If the attorney is unable to resolve your case without a lawsuit, the attorney will then assist you in drafting the necessary lawsuit and properly serve the lawsuit on the defendant who harmed you;
- Pre-trial Phase: After a lawsuit has been filed, an attorney will be able to assist you in conducting discovery, which is the formal process by which each party serves requests upon the other party or parties involved in the lawsuit to gather information to support their civil claims.
- An attorney will also be able to represent you at any in-person proceedings prior to a final trial, such as temporary order hearings and handling pre-trial motions;
- Trial Phase: If the case is not settled prior to trial, then a civil litigation lawyer will be able to represent your interests in court in front of the judge or jury by arguing your claims, questioning witnesses, and formally introducing evidence gathered in the previous stage of the lawsuit;
- Post-trial Phase: After a case has been concluded, an attorney may still be involved in the case by collecting and disbursing the funds that were recovered from the civil lawsuit.
- An attorney may also continue to represent you if an appeal of the final ruling is needed.
In addition to all of the above, the main thing that you should expect a civil attorney to do is to keep you well informed about your case. This means that you should always expect your civil attorney to inform you of all of your settlement options or resolutions for your case. In fact, attorneys are obligated to keep their clients informed of their cases.
How Much Does a Civil Attorney Cost?
As far as how much a civil attorney costs, the total cost of civil suit lawyers will vary widely. The costs for a civil attorney will be dependent upon a number of differing factors, including but not limited to:
- The area of law that the attorney practices;
- The areas of law that the plaintiff’s individual claim encompasses;
- The attorney’s level of experience, whether they are bar certified in their practice area, as well as their reputation in the industry;
- The difficulty of the case;
- The location in which the attorney practices, as different cities have different cost averages;
- The total amount of time that is spent either pursuing or defending the lawsuit.
In general, the most important factor used in calculating the total cost of a civil attorney is the amount of time that it will take the attorney to finish the case. This is because, in civil lawsuits, the contracts executed between clients and the attorney are most often hourly fee agreements.
In an hourly fee agreement, an attorney agrees to take a case based on the client paying the attorney an hourly rate for their work. In most cases, the attorney will request an upfront “retainer” to start the case, which they will then bill against as they complete work. The attorney will then ask the client to make sure the retainer is refreshed as work is completed on the client’s case.
For instance, an attorney may require an upfront retainer of $3,000. The attorney will then work the case, such as filing discovery to gather evidence, taking depositions of key witnesses, drafting motions and pleadings, and representing their client in court for pre-trial hearings or other in person court matters.
If the attorney’s hourly fee is $300 per hour, then the retainer would be depleted after 10 hours of work on the case. As such, the client would have to replenish the retainer so the attorney can continue to work on their case. Thus, the most important factor in determining the total cost of a civil attorney is the amount of time needed to finish the case.
Do You Need a Civil Attorney?
If you are involved in a civil lawsuit in Massachusetts or are seeking to file a civil lawsuit as a result of a legal issue that you are facing, then it is in your best interests to consult with an experienced civil litigation attorney in Massachusetts.
A civil litigation attorney will be able to help you determine your best course of legal action and answer any questions that you may have regarding your particular legal issues. LegalMatch can assist you in locating an attorney and setting up a particular legal consultation to discuss the legal issues you are facing.
An attorney will also be knowledgeable about Massachusetts’ civil laws and civil procedure. This means that the attorney will be able to represent you throughout the entire legal process, from pre-lawsuit to post-lawsuit, if necessary. Finally, an attorney will also be able to represent your interests in court, as needed.
