Many disputes are too big for small claims court, but too small to justify a lawyer's contingency fee. Fortunately, with the help of this book, you can handle your own case-from start to finish.

Paul Bergman is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law Sara J. Berman-Barrett is an attorney and bar review professor

Going it Alone in Court

The Scope of This Book

1/3

(1)

Can You Really Represent Yourself?

1/4

(1)

Coping With Being a Stranger in a Strange Land

1/5

(1)

Finding a Legal Coach

1/6

(1)

Using This Book

1/8

(1)

Trying to Settle Your Case

1/11

(1)

Alternatives to Trial

1/11

(1)

The Courthouse and the Courtroom

An Overview of Different Courts

2/3

(1)

A Typical Courthouse

2/5

(1)

The Courtroom Players

2/7

(1)

The Courtroom and Its Physical Layout

2/13

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Courtroom Rules, Customs, and Etiquette

2/16

(1)

Starting Your Case

Do You Have a Good Case?

3/3

(1)

Is Your Lawsuit Timely?

3/5

(1)

Which Court Has the Power to Hear Your Case?

3/8

(1)

Beginning a Lawsuit

3/17

(1)

Pretrial Procedures

Know and Follow Pretrial Deadlines

4/2

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Pretrial Conferences

4/3

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Court-Ordered Mediation and Arbitration

4/3

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Initial Pretrial Procedures: Setting Ground Rules

4/4

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Intermediate Pretrial Procedures: Discovery and Motions

4/9

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Final Pretrial Procedures: Trial Preparation

4/11

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Investigating Your Case

Informal Investigation

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Formal Discovery

5/8

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Depositions

5/12

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Written Interrogatories

5/26

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Requests for Production of Documents and Subpoenas

5/30

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Requests for Admissions

5/33

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Settlement

Court-Ordered Mediation

6/4

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Court-Ordered Arbitration

6/8

(1)

Offers of Judgment

6/9

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Pretrial Settlement Conferences

6/10

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Post-Settlement Documents

6/12

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Pretrial Motions

Overview of Pretrial Motion Practice

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Is a Motion Necessary?

7/6

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What Goes Into a Motion?

7/6

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Scheduling a Court Hearing on a Pretrial Motion

7/8

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Serving and Filing Your Documents

7/9

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Court Hearings on Motions

7/9

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Common Pretrial Motions

7/11

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Proving Your Case at Trial: The Plaintiff's Perspective

The Elements of a Legal Claim

8/2

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Finding the Elements of Your Claim

8/4

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Proving Each Element

8/4

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Your Burden of Proof

8/6

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Indentifying Facts to Prove the Elements of Your Claim

8/7

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Looking Ahead to Trial: Organizing Your Evidence

8/12

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Learning About Your Adversary's Case

8/14

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Proving Your Case at Trial: The Defendant's Perspective

Identifying the Elements of the Plaintiff's Legal Claim

9/3

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Identifying the Plaintiff's Facts

9/3

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Defeating Any One Element of a Claim

9/5

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Disproving the Plaintiff's Facts by Impeaching Witnesses

9/6

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Proving Your Version of Events

9/7

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Putting Defense Strategies Together

9/8

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Selecting the Decision Maker

Are You Eligible for a Jury Trial?

10/2

(1)

Are You Better Off With a Judge or a Jury?

10/2

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Your Opponent's Right to a Jury Trial

10/3

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Disqualifying a Judge

10/3

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Making a Timely Request for a Jury Trial

10/5

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The Jury Selection Process

10/6

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Your Right to Challenge Jurors

10/8

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What Jurors Should You Challenge?

10/11

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What Should You Ask Prospective Jurors?

10/12

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Alternate Jurors

10/16

(1)

Opening Statement

Should You Make an Opening Statement?

11/2

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When to Make Your Opening Statement

11/3

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Putting Together Your Opening Statement

11/5

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What Not to Say During Your Opening Statement

11/7

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Rehearsing and Presenting Your Opening Statement

11/10

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Sample Opening Statement and Outline

11/12

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Direct Examination

Direct Examination as Storytelling

12/2

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Overview of Direct Examination Procedures

12/3

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Preparing for Direct Examination

12/4

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Presenting Your Own Testimony on Direct Examination

12/8

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Questioning Witnesses

12/9

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Hostile Witnesses

12/20

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The Judge's Role

12/22

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Sample Direct Examination

12/23

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Cross-Examination

Overview of Cross-Examination

13/2

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Should You Cross-Examine?

13/4

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Asking Questions on Cross-Examination

13/5

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Eliciting Helpful Evidence

13/7

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Impeaching Adverse Witnesses

13/10

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Basing Questions on Evidence You Can Offer

13/18

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What to Do If Your Witness Is Impeached

13/19

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Preparing for Cross-Examination

13/20

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Closing Argument

When to Deliver Your Closing Argument

14/2

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Preparing and Rehearsing Your Closing Argument

14/2

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Putting Together a Closing Argument

14/3

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What Not to Say During Your Closing Argument

14/12

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Rebuttal Argument

14/13

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Objections During Closing

14/14

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Sample Closing Argument and Outline

14/14

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Exhibits

Overview of Admitting Exhibits Into Evidence

15/2

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Step 1: Mark Your Exhibits and Show Them to Your Adversary

15/5

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Step 2: Identify (Authenticate) Your Exhibits

15/6

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Step 3: Lay a Foundation

15/7

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Letting Jurors See Your Exhibits

15/19

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When Exhibits Are Required: The Best Evidence Rule

15/20

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Objecting to Your Adversary's Exhibits

15/21

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Organizing Exhibits for Trial

15/23

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Basic Rules of Evidence

Relevance

16/2

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Excluding Relevant but Unfairly Prejudicial Evidence

16/5

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The Rule Against Opinions

16/6

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The Rule Against Character Evidence

16/8

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Hearsay

16/10

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Making and Responding to Objections

Overview of Objections

17/2

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Objections Made Before Trial: Motions in Limine

17/3

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Making Objections During Trial

17/4

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Responding to Your Adversary's Objections

17/9

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Checklist of Common Objections

17/12

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Organizing a Trial Notebook

Setting Up Your Notebook

18/2

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Index Tab 1: Legal Pleadings

18/2

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Index Tab 2: Discovery Materials

18/3

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Index Tab 3: Legal Claim Outline

18/4

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Index Tab 4: Opening Statement Outline

18/4

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Index Tab 5: Direct Examination Outlines

18/4

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Index Tab 6: Cross-Examination Outlines

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Index Tab 7: Closing Argument Outline

18/6

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Index Tab 8: Jury Trial Documents

18/6

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Index Tab 9: Miscellaneous Documents

18/6

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Expert Witnesses

Who Are Expert Witnesses?

19/2

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Do You Need an Expert Witness?

19/2

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Special Rules for Expert Witnesses

19/4

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Finding and Hiring an Expert Witness

19/7

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Questioning Your Expert Witness at Trial

19/11

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Cross-Examining Your Opponent's Expert Witness

19/17

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When Your Trial Ends: Judgments and Appeals

How Final Decisions Are Made at the End of Trial

20/3

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Requesting a New Trial or Change in the Verdict

20/5

(1)

Appeals

20/7

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Collecting and Paying Judgments

20/11

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Representing Yourself in Divorce Court

Formulating a Divorce Game Plan

21/4

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Understanding the Basics of Family Law

21/16

(1)

Filing for Divorce

21/23

(1)

How Uncontested Divorces Work

21/25

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How Contested Divorces Work

21/29

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Modification of Support, Custody, and Visitation

21/40

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Representing Yourself in Bankruptcy Court

The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Process

22/3

(1)

Meeting of Creditors (341(a) Hearing)

22/5

(1)

Relief From Stay Hearing

22/6

(1)

Objection to Exemption Hearing

22/8

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Discharge of Debt Hearing

22/9

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Reaffirmation of Debt Hearing

22/10

(1)

Getting Help Beyond This Book

22/11

(1)

Getting Help From an Attorney: Hiring a Legal Coach

Why Consult a Lawyer?

23/2

(1)

Finding and Selecting a Qualified Legal Coach

23/5

(1)

Keeping Lawyer Bills Down

23/12

(1)

Researching the Law

What You May Want to Research

24/2

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Sources of Information

24/5

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Resolving Legal Research Problems

24/16

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