The ordinary civil case begins with a dispute between parties. Whether the dispute is an automobile accident, dissolution of marriage, or a breach of contract claim, the management of the lawsuit will follow a similar path. The civil litigation process begins with the exchange of formal pleadings outlining the claims of the par ties and proceeds through a discovery process designed to uncover the important facts bearing on those claims. Long before the lawsuit is ready to be presented to a judge or jury, the facts of the dispute must be assembled, examined, and thoroughly analyzed. Developing these facts requires the use of formal legal documents and procedures.

The pretrial phase of the modern litigation dispute is primarily the management of documents. Even an ordinary automobile accident involves several types of documents — police reports, witness statements, wage loss records, medical records, depositions, and medical reports. Most civil cases involve even more documents. The litigation paralegal is ideally suited to manage and summarize the important document in a civil case.

A trained paralegal can perform a variety of other tasks related to the development of the facts in a legal dispute. The paralegal can assist in locating the applicable law and evidence in a case. Each case is governed by certain procedural requirements that can be monitored by the paralegal. Paralegals often assist in locating and interviewing witnesses. In each capacity, the paralegal can perform the task more quickly and efficiently than a lawyer and at a lower cost.