Plaintiff or Defendant: Which Civil Lead to Pursue

A civil litigation lead can be a plaintiff who filed alone or a defendant who was just served. They have different deadlines, different needs, and different pitches. Most firms lean one way. This post lays out the trade-offs from what we saw in the court records.

What does each side look like?

• Plaintiffs without counsel in the cases we reviewed were mostly small claims filers, often repeat businesses. The contract plaintiffs we opened had attorneys.
• Defendants without counsel were individuals in small claims and a mix of businesses and individuals in contract and fraud cases.

How do the deadlines compare?

A defendant served in Utah has 21 days to answer, per Utah Courts. A plaintiff has no such clock after filing, but wants help with what happens next. See how fast civil litigators should contact a lead.

What does each side usually want?

A defendant wants help responding and avoiding a default. A plaintiff wants help pursuing the claim, possibly through trial or appeal; see how small claims works.

Can you take both?

Not on the same case. Choose in advance, and know that if you subscribe to both sides you may receive both parties from one case.

How do you choose?

By what your practice does. A defense-oriented firm will want defendants; a firm that pursues claims will want plaintiffs. Revenue Spark's civil categories deliver either party without an attorney, so filter by who you want to help.

See Utah civil litigation leads and pricing.