Gain insight into the laws governing all of the major steps in the civil litigation process, starting with jurisdiction, venue, and ascertaining the governing law, and moving through pleading, joinder, discovery, pretrial management and adjudication, trials, appeals, and the effect and enforcement of judgments. Class actions and other forms of complex, multiparty litigation, as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), are also covered. This text addresses the major themes underlying the various rules and procedures, and it has continuing utility as a desk book in legal practice and as an entree into deeper research.

Rules of civil procedure govern everything that happens outside of criminal proceedings. This Nutshell provides a road map to navigating civil procedure rules and helps build a foundation for understanding the overall picture. Topics discussed include: jurisdiction, venue, and other court-selection issues; pleading, discovery, summary judgment, and other pretrial matters; adjudication, judgments, and appeals; multi-party/multi-claim proceedings, including class actions and multidistrict litigation; plus standing, the Erie doctrine, arbitration, and other important procedural issues. The new edition covers all the subjects dealt with in today's civil procedure courses, whether four or five or six hours in length.