Civil litigation lifecycle template

Steps in this flowchart

• Dispute arises
• Demand letter
• Resolved pre-suit?
• Matter closed
• File complaint & serve defendant
• Answer or motion to dismiss
• Motion to dismiss granted?
• Initial disclosures & case schedule
• Discovery: documents, interrogatories, depositions
• Expert reports
• Summary judgment motions
• Case disposed?
• Mediation
• Settlement reached?
• Settlement agreement & dismissal
• Pretrial conference
• Trial
• Verdict & judgment
• Appeal filed?
• Appellate review
• Enforce or satisfy judgment

How to use this flowchart template

1. Click Open in the editor. The flowchart opens on a new page in FlowDiagram — nothing is uploaded and there is no sign-up.
2. Rename, add or delete shapes and drag them where you want; connectors stay attached as things move.
3. Drop in vendor logos from the library — 1,160 of them, including every AWS, Azure and Google Cloud service icon — or restyle it with the colour and theme controls.
4. Prefer text? Edit the Mermaid source below and paste it in through ☰ → Import diagram (see the Mermaid editor); it imports as an editable diagram.
5. Export to PNG, SVG or PDF, or press Ctrl+L for a link that carries the whole diagram.

Mermaid source

The whole template is the text below. Paste it into FlowDiagram, keep it in Git next to the code it describes, or hand it to an AI assistant to extend.

flowchart TD
  A([Dispute arises]) --> B[Demand letter]
  B --> C{Resolved pre-suit?}
  C -->|Yes| Z([Matter closed])
  C -->|No| D[File complaint & serve defendant]
  D --> E[Answer or motion to dismiss]
  E --> F{Motion to dismiss granted?}
  F -->|Yes| Z
  F -->|No| G[Initial disclosures & case schedule]
  G --> H[Discovery: documents, interrogatories, depositions]
  H --> I[Expert reports]
  I --> J[Summary judgment motions]
  J --> K{Case disposed?}
  K -->|Yes| Z
  K -->|No| L[Mediation]
  L --> M{Settlement reached?}
  M -->|Yes| N[Settlement agreement & dismissal]
  N --> Z
  M -->|No| O[Pretrial conference]
  O --> P[Trial]
  P --> Q[Verdict & judgment]
  Q --> R{Appeal filed?}
  R -->|Yes| S[Appellate review]
  S --> Z
  R -->|No| T[Enforce or satisfy judgment]
  T --> Z

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