A Day in the Life of a Litigator at Lieb at Law
For attorneys who care about legal mechanics, procedural strategy, controlling authority, and finding the strongest path to win.
Lieb at Law is a collaborative litigation firm built around a simple objective: finding the strongest path to win.
Titles matter for responsibility, but not for intellectual contribution.
The best ideas do not belong exclusively to partners. The strongest authority does not become less persuasive because a junior attorney found it first. A procedural strategy is not ignored because it came from someone newer to practice.
Our litigators work together to pressure-test arguments, challenge assumptions, cross-reference statutes, regulations, and case law, and build positions supported by proof.
The expectation is not hierarchy for hierarchy’s sake. The expectation is legal mastery through collaboration.
Junior attorneys learn by working directly with experienced litigators on active disputes. Senior attorneys are expected to sharpen strategy by engaging with the strongest ideas in the room, regardless of source.
The attorneys who tend to thrive here are those who naturally build on each other’s thinking, refine legal theories collectively, and remain focused on substance over ego.
This is a practice built around finding the win.
Litigators at Lieb at Law Are Expected to Own Cases
This is not a role where attorneys are confined to narrow support functions, limited drafting assignments, or isolated research tasks.
From the earliest assessment of a dispute through final resolution, litigators are expected to exercise judgment, develop legal strategy, and execute.
Case Assessment and Early Strategy
Before a lawsuit is filed, litigators assess the underlying facts, available claims, defenses, remedies, and procedural posture.
Initial Legal Assessment
- Factual viability
- Causes of action
- Available defenses
- Statutes of limitation
- Available remedies
Strategic Filing Analysis
- Jurisdiction
- Venue
- Precinct selection
- Procedural leverage
- Enforceability of any potential judgment or award
The objective is not simply determining whether a claim exists. The objective is determining the most strategically advantageous path forward.
Pleading and Motion Practice
Litigators draft and respond to pleadings across a wide range of matters, including commercial, real estate, employment, discrimination, regulatory, and business disputes.
Pleadings
- Summons and complaints
- Answers
- Affirmative defenses
- Counterclaims
- Crossclaims
- Third-party actions
- Amended pleadings
Motion Practice
- Pre-answer motions to dismiss
- Summary judgment motions
- Motions to compel
- Motions for protective orders
- Motions in limine
- Emergency applications
- Temporary restraining orders
- Preliminary injunction applications
- Appellate briefing
This work requires technical legal writing, command of procedural rules, and the ability to develop coherent legal theories supported by controlling authority.
Legal Research and Case Theory Development
Legal research is not treated as a standalone support function. Litigators are expected to conduct substantive legal analysis that informs case strategy.
- Identifying controlling precedent
- Distinguishing unfavorable authority
- Locating superseding authority
- Analyzing statutory construction
- Interpreting regulations
- Evaluating legislative history where relevant
- Researching novel or unsettled legal issues
- Identifying procedural mechanisms that create leverage
Cases are frequently shaped by technical legal arguments, procedural positioning, and jurisdiction-specific doctrine.
Discovery
Litigators manage fact and expert discovery from inception through completion.
Fact Discovery
- Document demands
- Interrogatories
- Requests for admission
- Subpoenas
- Discovery deficiency correspondence
- Discovery motion practice
- Document review strategy
- Electronically stored information issues
Expert Discovery
- Expert retention and coordination
- Expert disclosures
- Expert report analysis
- Expert depositions
- Evidentiary positioning for motion practice or trial
Discovery is approached as a mechanism for building the evidentiary record, narrowing disputed issues, and positioning cases for dispositive motion practice or trial.
Depositions
Litigators are expected to both defend and take depositions.
- Witness preparation
- Defending party and non-party depositions
- Conducting examinations
- Identifying testimony objectives
- Preserving objections
- Creating impeachment opportunities
- Developing evidentiary support for future motion practice or trial
Advocacy
Litigators appear in multiple forums depending on the matter.
Forums
- New York State trial courts
- Federal district courts
- Appellate courts
- Arbitration forums
- Administrative proceedings
- Regulatory hearings
Appearances
- Oral arguments
- Court conferences
- Evidentiary hearings
- Arbitrations
- Trials
- Appeals
Regulatory and Corporate Advisory Work
Certain matters require litigators to assess changing regulatory frameworks and their implications for business operations.
- Analyzing new regulations
- Assessing enforcement risk
- Advising on policy revisions
- Aligning corporate practices with legal developments
- Identifying areas of operational exposure before disputes arise
The practice tends to appeal to attorneys who enjoy the mechanics of litigation: procedure, burden-shifting, statutory interpretation, evidentiary foundations, and the search for controlling authority.
The Technical Side of the Practice
The work tends to appeal to attorneys who:
- Care about procedural strategy
- Think critically about jurisdiction and venue
- Pay attention to burden-shifting frameworks
- Enjoy statutory interpretation
- Understand evidentiary foundations
- Recognize how technical procedural decisions affect outcomes
- Are interested in identifying controlling authority rather than relying on assumptions
- Are comfortable researching unsettled legal questions
- Appreciate precision in written advocacy
The practice is detail-oriented, intellectually demanding, and highly procedural.
Still Evaluating the Fit?
If this type of practice appeals to you but you still have questions, learn more about how attorneys collaborate internally at Lieb at Law, how responsibility is earned, and how the litigation practice operates.