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MRM Law,APC

Capability

Motion practice.

Building the record
the motion depends on.

Strong motion practice begins with early case analysis. We identify the legal and factual issues capable of changing the trajectory of the case and develop the record around them.

Successful motion practice begins long before the motion is drafted. By the time a summary judgment brief is filed, the outcome has usually been determined by what was asked in discovery, what was obtained in deposition, and what was documented in the record.

How we approach it

Seven decisions that decide the motion.

  • 01

    Identify the dispositive issues early

    Before the answer is filed, we map the claims to the elements, immunities, and statutory requirements that can actually end them — Government Claims Act compliance, statutory and discretionary immunities, qualified immunity, Monell and supervisory standards, causation, and damages limitations.

  • 02

    Evaluate what can be narrowed or eliminated

    Not every motion is worth bringing. We assess which claims, theories, defendants, and damages categories can realistically be removed by demurrer, motion to strike, judgment on the pleadings, or summary adjudication, and what each motion costs relative to what it accomplishes.

  • 03

    Conduct discovery with the motion in mind

    Written discovery, records collection, and depositions are sequenced to produce the specific admissible facts a dispositive motion requires — undisputed facts, authenticated documents, and testimony that closes the gaps a plaintiff would otherwise argue are triable.

  • 04

    Develop the evidentiary record deliberately

    A separate statement is only as strong as its evidence. Declarations, authenticated video and audio, policy and training records, and deposition excerpts are assembled as the case develops rather than reconstructed in the weeks before a filing deadline.

  • 05

    Use deposition testimony strategically

    Depositions are taken to obtain the admissions a motion depends on and to close off alternative theories. Our own witnesses are prepared so their testimony is accurate, precise, and consistent with the documentary record.

  • 06

    Preserve the issues that matter on review

    Objections, offers of proof, and legal issues are preserved as they arise. Motions are written for the appellate reader as much as for the trial judge, including on interlocutory qualified immunity appeals.

  • 07

    Prepare for trial while pursuing early resolution

    Dispositive motion practice and trial preparation are the same work. A file built for summary judgment is a file ready for trial, which also gives the client and its carrier a credible basis for evaluating resolution.

Sequence

Motions are the product
of everything before them.

Each stage exists to supply what the next one needs. Issue identification governs discovery; discovery produces the record; the record decides the motion; the motion shapes trial and review.

  1. 01Issue Identification
  2. 02Pleading Challenges
  3. 03Discovery Sequencing
  4. 04Record Development
  5. 05Dispositive Motions
  6. 06Preservation
  7. 07Trial / Appeal

Motions we handle

  • 01Demurrers and motions to strike
  • 02Judgment on the pleadings
  • 03Motions to dismiss (Rule 12)
  • 04Qualified immunity motions
  • 05Monell and supervisory liability motions
  • 06Summary judgment and summary adjudication
  • 07Discovery motions and sanctions
  • 08Anti-SLAPP and immunity-based motions
  • 09Motions in limine
  • 10Evidentiary and expert-exclusion motions
  • 11Post-trial motions
  • 12Writ petitions and interlocutory appeals
A motion is not an argument about the record. It is the record, arranged.

Related capabilities

Contact

Discuss
a pending motion.

For questions about dispositive strategy in a pending matter, contact MRM Law.

Contact MRMContact@MRM.Law