How long do employment lawsuits take?

• Strength of the claims by the plaintiff

• Damages incurred

• Settlement positions by both the plaintiff and defendant

These are just a few examples, but many facets of employment lawsuits can take a year or several to complete. They most often follow these common legal procedures:

• Opposing parties present legal motions

• Opposing parties present witnesses

• Opposing parties present evidence

• Opposing parties present statements

The litigation might occur in a courtroom with a judge and a jury or just a judge. It might also happen outside of the courtroom in arbitration. Employment lawsuits happen for many different reasons. Here are some common instances:

• Intellectual property (IP) disputes

• Class action lawsuits

• Discrimination

• Unpaid wages

• Breach of contract

• Disputes between partners

Employment lawsuits can be extremely complex and involve lawyers reviewing countless documents, consulting the counsel of experts, investigating different forms of evidence, interviewing witnesses, creating and responding to many court motions, and participating in court proceedings (if it reaches this stage).

Employment lawsuits that deal with overly-complex issues, or cases involving large sums of money, normally take years to conclude.