Legal Action ___Your group has met and determined that taking this legal action is your last resort. ___You have retained the right attorney. ___You determine whether you have a case. ___You have decided whether a class action suit is appropriate, both for the situation and for achieving your goals. ___You have determined that your legal action is a ____criminal lawsuit or a ____civil lawsuit, by deciding what you want to get out of the lawsuit. ___You decide where to file suit, and whether to use the state or federal courts (if you have choices in any of these areas). ___If you want to file a criminal action, you have taken your evidence to the police, the FBI, or the prosecutor's office. ___If a criminal lawsuit you have worked with a state or federal prosecutor who has decided to pursue the lawsuit. ___If a civil suit, your group has decided to file suite against other parties (who may be either private or public entities). ___Your group has, with advice from your attorney, filed suit for money or other payment for injury caused by the defendant. ___In a civil case, you have decided to not pursue money or other payments, but instead seek an injunction, an apology, or some action on the part of the defendant. ___You do your research, so you can counter opposition arguments. ___You anticipate whatever the other side may throw at you. ___You make allowances for having this legal action in your life for a long period. Why would you - and why wouldn't you - initiate legal action? You initiate legal action because: ___The other party refuses to deal with you at all. ___You've tried negotiation and/or mediation, and found that the other party wouldn't deal with you in good faith. ___You want a judge to order mediation, fact-finding, or arbitration to resolve an issue. ___The other party has made it clear that legal action is the only course it will accept. ___You know or believe that the other party is about to initiate legal action against you. ___The other party is doing, or about to do, something so harmful that you have to act quickly and pointedly. ___Taking legal action is part of a larger strategy to keep the opposition off balance while you work to get a law passed that will make your suit unnecessary. ___If you win, you may set a legal precedent that helps your cause over the long term. You hesitate to take legal action because: ___It's expensive. ___It's time-consuming. ___It can be extremely unpleasant. ___It can destroy current or potential relationships. ___The effort you put into the lawsuit may take away from your other work as an advocate. ___There's no guarantee that, after all the expenditure of money, time, good will, reputation, etc., you'll win. ___If you lose, you may set a legal precedent that hurts your cause over the long term.
