Previous: II. Typical Stages of a Federal Lawsuit
If an employment case survives the summary judgment process, chances are good that the employer will offer a decent settlement amount. If the employer does not offer an amount sufficient to induce you to settle the case, the case proceeds to the next stage. The Judge will set a date for filing of the PRE-TRIAL ORDER. The Pre-Trial Order is a very large document, filed by both sides together. You might think of the Pre-Trial Order as the Judge’s “road map” to the case. It includes each side’s main arguments, lists of witnesses, lists of exhibits, and proposed instructions for the jury.
After the Pre-Trial Order is filed, the Judge will generally make an effort to try to convince the parties to settle the case. He or she will often require each side and their lawyers to come to court for the purpose of discussing settlement, and the Judge will often recommend a settlement amount to the parties. Although the parties need not agree to the Judge’s recommendation, federal court judges can be quite persuasive in convincing the parties to compromise their differences before starting a trial.
If settlement again fails, the case will be set for trial. Your attorney will spend days preparing for trial and allowing you to practice your testimony. Your attorney may also incur some additional expenses for graphics for use at trial or subpoenaing witnesses to attend.
On the first morning of a jury trial, the Judge will bring a group of about 40 potential jurors to the courtroom and question them in groups about whether they can be fair. The Judge will give each side a number of “strikes” that they may exercise to remove jurors that they do not want. When eight (usually) jurors are selected, the trial begins. Federal court jury trials in employment cases usually last several days. During trial, the employer can again move to dismiss the case if its lawyer believes that the plaintiff is not adequately proving its case. If those motions are denied, the case is given to the jury to decide who wins and how much to award as damages. Again, the losing party may appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
