Planning and Preparation

This chapter teaches case planning as a discipline rather than an instinct: how to map the stages of civil, criminal, bench, administrative, and arbitration cases; how to design and populate a case book; how to select a winning theory, draft a factual summary, and translate it into evidence and trial choices. Substantial sections cover jury instructions and verdict forms (drafted early, refined throughout), the burden-of-proof and presumption framework, and the strategic forum selection that often dictates everything downstream. The chapter is especially valuable for clinical and trial advocacy courses where students must build a case file from scratch — it gives professors a ready-made workflow for assignments and a vocabulary that bridges evidence, civil procedure, and persuasion in one place.