Explaining a lawsuit to a client (SUA) - solution to exercise

Ms. Cherry, sit down, please. Now I know that this is your first time to be involved in a lawsuit, so I want to go over a few terms and let you know what’s going to happen. Some of this you’ll know from watching TV, but much of what really happens in the courtroom bears no resemblance to those lawyer shows or movies. I can assure you Tom Cruise won’t show up. 

I’ve already filed the complaint-that tells the court what the problem is that you want them to look at. Since you filed the complaint, you are the plaintiff. The man who hit you is the defendant. He’s also filed paper called the “answer” that give his side of the story. 

Next we enter the discovery phase, where we discover what everybody knows and agrees to. We’ll send requests for them to agree with us about certain facts. We call those requests “ admissions”, but don’t worry, that’s not like an admission of guilt or anything. If nobody disagrees with certain facts, we call them “ stipulations”. It just means we all agree that, for example, you were driving at or below the speed limit. That way we don’t have to spend time in court settling those things. 

Once we’ve finished with all the pretrial motions and the trial starts, I’ll call you to the stand and you will tell what happened. The defense attorney will also ask you questions; that’s called cross-examination. I’ll call you when I hear from the other attorney.
And thank you now for stopping by.

(www.press.umich.edu/esl/tm/amerlegal/08587-09.pdf)