Litigation Practice & Procedure

Turn research into results with the only California-specific legal know-how solution.


The Legal Know-How Solution for California Litigators.

Use Practitioner’s Workflows, How-To Guides, Strategy Notes, Charts, Checklists, and annotated Sample Documents to guide you from start to finish of your lawsuit, including county-level guidance for 20 of California’s most populous counties.


Included Know-How Resources

We’re always updating and adding new content, but browse a list of selected content to decide whether Practitioner | Litigation Practice & Procedure is right for you:

Drafting & Responding to Complaints

  • Workflow: Drafting & Responding to the Complaint
  • How to Obtain Complex Case Designation (Alameda County & other CA counties)
  • How to Oppose a Demurrer to a Complaint
  • How to Draft, File, and Serve an Opposition to a 12(b) Motion
  • How to Draft, Serve, and File a Motion to Strike
  • How to Draft, Serve, and File an Answer to a Verified Complaint
  • Strategic Considerations Regarding Motions For Disqualifying a Judge
  • Strategic Considerations in Filing and Defending Against Anti-SLAPP Motions
  • Generic Notice of Motion and Motion to Dismiss Under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 12(b)(6)
  • Motion to File an Amended Answer

Motion Practice

  • Workflow: Motion Practice
  • How to Navigate Law and Motion Procedures (Contra Costa County & other CA counties)
  • How to Draft, File, and Serve a Noticed Motion
  • Generic Request for Judicial Notice
  • How to Draft, Circulate, File, and Serve an Order After Hearing
  • How to Obtain an Order to Show Cause
  • How to File a Motion to Be Relieved as Attorney of Record
  • How to Move for a Preliminary Injunction
  • How to Draft and File a Motion to Determine Good Faith of Settlement
  • Plaintiff’s Notice and Motion to Tax Costs

Appeals

  • Workflow: Appeals
  • Checklist: Appealable Orders and Judgments
  • Checklist: Analyzing the Likelihood of Success on Appeal
  • Strategic Considerations in Deciding Whether to Appeal
  • How to File and Serve the Notice of Appeal
  • How to Designate the Record on Appeal
  • How to File and Serve Opening and Reply Briefs on Appeal
  • Application for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief
  • How to File Amicus Curiae Briefs in Appellate Cases

Discovery

  • Workflow: Discovery in California State Courts
  • Workflow: Discovery in California Federal District Courts
  • Workflow: Filing Under Seal
  • How to Manage Discovery Requests in the Eastern Federal District (and other CA district courts)
  • How to Manage Discovery (Fresno County & other CA counties)
  • How to Obtain Discovery Sanctions
  • Meet and Confer Letter: Deficiencies in Responses to Form and Special Interrogatories
  • Benefits of early Disclosure of Expert Witnesses
  • Litigation Hold Letter to Opposing Counsel
  • Obtaining a Mental of Physical Examination

Summary Judgment & Summary Adjudication

  • Summary Judgment Legal Standard
  • Federal Summary Judgment Legal Standard
  • Summary Adjudication Legal Standard
  • Comparison of Summary Adjudication Procedures
  • Checklist: Deciding Whether to Move for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication
  • How to Make and Oppose a Summary Judgment or Adjudication Motion in California State Court
  • Strategic Considerations in Opposing Summary Judgment
  • How to Oppose a Motion for Summary Judgment
  • Objections to Evidence in Separate Statement

Trial Preparation

  • Workflow: Trial Preparation
  • Checklist: Preparing for Trial
  • Strategic Considerations in a Pretrial Discovery Subpoena
  • Strategic Considerations in Preparing Your Opening Statement
  • Strategic Considerations in Drafting a Trial Brief
  • Strategic Considerations in Drafting Trial Briefs for Bench Trials
  • Checklist: Preparing Expert Witnesses for Trial
  • How to Draft Proposed Special Jury Instructions
  • Chart: Local Rules on Proposed Jury Instructions
  • How to Make a Written Motion in Limine


Workflows

Work smarter by accessing all Practitioner’s resources via Workflows that provide a logical and dynamic overview of major categories of work and legal tasks required by specific types of California state and federal cases. Find the specific resource you need, when you need it, while understanding how that resource fits into the broader context of your case.  

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How-To Guides

Spend less time navigating the local rules of court and multiple pages on each court’s website. Let the judges in the California counties and district courts you practice in guide you guide you through the proper procedure. Each How-To Guide provides clear, concise step-by-step guidance, including Judge’s Perspective notes, Practice Notes, and more. 

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Strategy Notes

The best lawyers always want to know how other experienced practitioners analyze the issues. Strategy Notes give you an outline of the key strategic and tactical considerations you should take into account when analyzing a new development in your practice area, approaching settlement negotiations, or advising your client.  

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Charts & Checklists

Not everything requires in-depth legal research. Sometimes all you need is a quick overview of the key tasks or issues, or a reminder to not to forget an important step. Includes Cause of Action Checklists that outline the key elements, statutes of limitations, relevant jury instructions, remedies, and damages for a particular claim.   

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Sample Documents

High-quality templates, forms, and standard clauses, with detailed Guidance Comment annotations explaining the document’s requirements, as well as how, when, or why to adapt the sample language or use an alternate clause. Downloadable in Word, either with or without Guidance Comments.  

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Included Practice Guides

All practice guides are fully integrated with CEB’s Primary Law with TrueCite, so you don’t have to switch to a different platform to ensure the cases you’re citing are still good law.

Administrative Law

  • California Administrative Hearing Practice
  • California Administrative Mandamus

Law Practice Management

  • California Basic Practice Handbook
  • California Client Communications Manual: Sample Letters and Forms
  • Fee Agreement Forms Manual

Appellate Law

  • California Civil Appellate Practice
  • California Civil Writ Practice
  • Handling Civil Appeals

Litigation Practice & Procedure

  • California Attorney Fee Awards
  • California Attorney’s Guide to Damages
  • California Civil Discovery Practice
  • California Civil Litigation Reporter
  • California Civil Procedure Before Trial
  • California Expert Witness Guide
  • California Summary Judgment
  • California Trial Objections
  • California Trial Practice: Civil Procedure During Trial
  • Effective Direct and Cross-Examination
  • Enforcing Civil Money Judgments
  • Handling Depositions
  • Handling Expert Witnesses in California Courts
  • Handling Motions to Compel and Other Discovery Motions
  • Handling Subpoenas
  • Meeting Statutory Deadlines: During and After Litigation
  • Obtaining a Writ of Attachment
  • Persuasive Opening Statements and Closing Arguments
  • Preparing for Trial

Evidence

  • Effective Introduction of Evidence in California
  • Jefferson’s California Evidence Benchbook
  • Laying a Foundation to Introduce Evidence (Preparing and Using Evidence at Trial)
  • Scientific Evidence and Expert Testimony in California

Personal Injury

  • California Government Tort Liability Practice
  • California Liability Insurance Practice: Claims and Litigation

State & Local Government

  • The Municipal Law Handbook

Still need primary law and secondary sources? Don’t worry, you get those, too.

Practitioner is your all-in-one practical guidance and legal research solution. All subscriptions include CEB’s primary law research tool with TrueCite™, our powerful case law citator. Plus, you get a comprehensive set of curated practice guides in your chosen practice area(s).

Primary Law with TrueCite™

Leverage our best-in-class legal search to find the most relevant content, fast. Narrow your results with advanced filters, including court, cause of action, procedural posture, and disposition. Coverage includes California Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court case law, as well as the California Codes and California Constitution. Plus, TrueCite™’s color-coded treatment flags let you know at a glance whether a case is still good law.

California-Focused Practice Guides

Rely on CEB’s expert community of contributing judges and lawyers to frame and organize the legal issues for you before you dive into case law research or start drafting. The most trusted and comprehensive California-specific practice guides available, in curated practice area libraries that meet the needs of California lawyers.


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