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Civil Litigation: Pretrial Case Development and Discovery

3rd Edition
Craig M. Roen | Sharon Reich Paulsen
ISBN: 9798317700225
Subject: Pretrial
Format: Print & Electronic - Softbound
Page Count: 248
Copyright: 2026 | Status: In Stock
Other Formats Available

New book purchase includes complimentary digital access to the eBook.

Civil Litigation: Pretrial Case Development and Discovery (3rd Ed.) offers a practical approach to effectively teaching and learning the methods of litigating a civil case. It is not a book on civil procedure; rather, this concise volume begins with a holistic overview of the case building process, then takes the reader from the initial client meeting through case planning and management, the various forms of discovery and their particular functions, then on to the effective use of the record.

The book and accompanying online materials move beyond the rules to focus on how to litigate a case. It contains real world examples that illustrate how effective litigators address the inevitable challenges of prosecuting and defending civil cases. It is appropriate for law students and new attorneys, and it includes all the materials needed for use in an experiential course on pretrial litigation.

The companion online component contains two fully developed case problems for students to "litigate": a trade secrets dispute and a sexual harassment case, both of which have been vetted and used extensively at the University of Minnesota Law School. Each case problem contains party and witness summaries, case-related documents, and expert witness files. There are additional deposition witness memoranda to help prepare students or actors to play the roles of witnesses for the deposition exercises.

Additional faculty resources are available at eproducts.westacademic.com. They are broken into two groups: (1) materials for your use, and (2) materials that may be provided to students for specific exercises and assignments. Professor resources include an instructor’s manual, memoranda of law for each case problem, an exemplar syllabus, and additional in-class exercise materials. Student resources include various exemplar documents students may reference as they complete course exercises.


Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: Coursebook
Publication Date: 03/04/2026

Craig M. Roen, University of Minnesota Law School

Sharon Reich Paulsen, Vermont

CasebookPlus™

This title is available in our CasebookPlus format. CasebookPlus provides support beyond your classroom lectures and materials by offering additional digital resources to you and your students. Anchored by faculty-authored formative self-assessments keyed to our most popular casebooks, CasebookPlus allows students to test their understanding of core concepts as they are learning them in class — on their own, outside of the classroom, with no extra work on your part. CasebookPlus combines three important elements:

  • A new print or digital casebook
  • Access to a downloadable eBook with the ability to highlight and add notes
  • 12-month access to a digital Learning Library complete with:
Multiple-choice self-assessment questions, including:
  • Chapter questions keyed to the casebook
  • Black Letter Law questions (available in select subjects)
  • Subject area review questions for end of semester use
Essay and short answer questions with sample answers and expert commentary, in 1L and select upper-level subjects

Leading digital study aids, an outline starter, and audio lectures in select subjects

Students can still utilize CasebookPlus digital resources if they've purchased a used book or are renting their text by purchasing the Learning Library at westacademic.com.

With CasebookPlus, you can customize your students' learning experience and monitor their performance. The quiz editor allows you to create your own custom quiz set, suppress specific quiz questions or quiz sets, and time-release quiz questions. Additionally, the flexible, customized reporting capability helps you evaluate your students' understanding of the material and can also help your school demonstrate compliance with the new ABA Assessment and Learning Outcomes standards.

Teacher's Manual

Additional Instructional Material

Online Materials for Students (identical to the documents available at the eProducts resource page for this book)

In addition to the Teacher’s Manual, the instructional materials include memoranda of law for each case problem, an exemplar syllabus, and additional in-class exercise materials.

 

The primary difference between the 2nd and 3rd editions relates to the advent of AI and its rapidly developing use in the civil litigation context. Specifically, there is a new chapter (Chapter 14) entirely devoted to the increasing use of AI by civil litigators, including how it works, what litigation-related products are currently available, and its advantages and pitfalls. Additional content in other chapters speaks to the use of AI in the context of large-scale document gathering and review, experts’ use of AI, and ethical / competence considerations.

Additional changes include:
1. Updates regarding changes in the law;
2. Revisions to text throughout to use more precise terms and to improve clarity; and
3. Corrections and/or updates to a number of footnotes.

Learn more about this series.