What should I expect if we have to take my case to trial? And is it worth it?

An employment discrimination lawsuit is an arduous, time-consuming, and sometimes expensive process, so it’s important to have a frank discussion with your employment lawyer about the value of the case and what can be realistically expected. Most cases settle before trial. It is important that you as the employee understand what the value of your case might be.

There must be a sufficient recovery possible in order to justify the time and effort a lawsuit requires of both the attorney and the employee. At the end of the day, a lawsuit is about money, not just fighting about the principle of your situation.

Preparation for trial requires a lot of the employee’s time and effort. Many times, clients or employees have no idea how much time their lawyer spends preparing for trial. It’s an incredible amount of time, and the employee is a key part of the preparation.

As the employee, you should expect to spend the equivalent of a few days of time meeting with your attorney, going over the questions you’ll be asked at trial, going over the facts of the case (which should include understanding both sides of the story), getting prepared for the other attorney’s cross-examination at trial, going over documents, and generally preparing for the trial. You might need to sacrifice some working hours for preparation.

The trial itself is a demanding and exhausting procedure that your lawyer will help you prepare for and go through, but you need to be psychologically prepared. Depending on the nature of the case, you can count on spending anywhere from three to five full days (or more) in the trial itself.