Trial in Employment Law Cases | What to Expect

Trial in employment law cases is tough. This page details what you can expect to happen at your trial (if your case doesn’t settle). Trial lawyer Lawrance Bohm has taken time out of his busy schedule to film an entire video about the stages of trial. This video is meant to help inform current clients and potential clients, and to prepare them for what trial is all about.

Throughout California, the Bohm Law Group is known as an employment trial firm. The reason why lawyers refer their cases to us is because Lawrance Bohm gets record breaking results. Trial is where the rubber meets the road. This is where your lawyer can prove his or her worth.

The easiest way to pick an employment lawyer is to simply look at their trial results. If they get good results, they are worth contacting.

Watch Lawrance’s Video on the Stages of Trial

If you are looking for a lawyer, or if you already have a lawyer and you’re getting ready for trial, we highly recommend that you watch this video about the stages of trial so that you can know what to expect.

The Stages of Employment Cases

Employment cases generally follow several predictable steps.

1. Filing – The lawsuit is filed in court. This starts the case.
2. Early Motions – The lawyers file motions to try to get an early win in the case. This can be to toss out the entire case or parts of it.
3. Discovery – The parties exchange evidence, documents, and information in discovery.
4. Summary Judgment – The lawyers file a big motion to try to win the case outright or severely reduce it before trial.
5. Trial – See below for more detail.
6. Appeal

Settlement can happen during, before, or after any of these stages. In most cases, the case will settle at mediation. This is a formal settlement discussion, where both parties meet with a mediator to try to find a resolution. Mediation can happen before the case is even filed, and can also happen as late as after an appeal.

The Stages of Employment Trials

Since this page is all about trial, here are the specific parts of trial and some details. Lawrance goes into more detail in the video. We recommend you watch that if you want to know more about what to expect at trial.

1. Voir Dire – This is jury selection. This is where the Judge and lawyers question the jury pool and eliminate people who they feel are biased. This has a highly structured process to ensure fairness for both sides.
2. Opening Statements – Here, the lawyers from each side tell the jury what the evidence will show in the case. It is a chance to give an overview of the facts and start the narrative necessary to prevail.
3. The Plaintiff’s Case – This is where the employee’s lawyer puts on his or her case-in-chief. Your lawyer will examine witnesses, display documents, play video & audio recordings, put on experts, and re-direct witnesses to mitigate damage done during cross examination.
4. The Defendant’s Case – This is where the company’s lawyer puts on his or her case-in-chief. Your lawyer will cross-examine many of the defense witnesses.
5. Closing Arguments – Here, the lawyers from each side get a turn to argue their case to the jury. It is the best time for your lawyer to persuasively tell your case to the jury and explain why the other side should lose.
6. Jury Instructions – The judge will read a bunch of instructions for the jury before they begin deliberating who won and who lost.
7. Verdict – Once the jury has decided, they return to the courtroom and the Court reporter reads the verdict to the parties and Judge.