Beginning with an analogy drawn from the American Civil War, this paper discusses some of the “battles” encountered in civil litigation, and offers strategies to help you manage information, defend against the other side, and maintain your objectives. It provides essential strategies to employ when faced with a “paper war” (dealing with document overload), a “street fight” (dealing with an extremely aggressive adverse party), a “limited war” (dealing with litigation that your client shouldn’t have been dragged into), and a long campaign (dealing with long-lasting litigation).

This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Litigation Strategies program in Calgary on January 18, 2018 and in Edmonton on January 25, 2018.