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The Legal Journey of Bill Gipson: Construction of the Litigation Process Bill Gipson was a bus driver for the Swank Transport Company. A number of years ago when Gipson was walking to a restaurant from work, Michael Sawyer, his old intimate friend, stopped and offered him a ride. They had not seen each other for several years since Sawyer had moved to another city. They carried on an exciting talk as Sawyer drove. Suddenly Sawyer’s car was struck by a car running through a red light, whose driver was William Tord, a tourist from another state. All the three individuals were badly injured and were taken to hospital. Miserably Sawyer died from injures received in the crash a week later. Several days after the accident, Gipson’s boss, David Swank telephoned Gipson and said that he had learned that the police had found about an ounce of heroin under the front seat of Sawyer’s card and going to charge Gipson with possession of narcotics with intent to distribute. Swank also stated that the company had made a decision to fire Gipson that morning. There are at least two legal disputes involving Gipson that could rise out of this scenario: 1. A civil dispute among Gipson, Tord, and Sawyer’s estate regarding liability for the accident; 2. A dispute between Gipson and the government regarding the criminal charges. Gipson suffered grave injury as a result of the crash. From whom could he ask for damages, and who was liable for the accident? Was Sawyer at fault? Tord? Was each of them jointly and severally liable? Gipson hired attorney Adrian Neff to represent him. Once Gipson signed a retainer, Neff would later enter an appearance and become Gipson’s attorney of record. Neff, the attorney, then explained that some factors should be considered before deciding on the forum. Gipson may be able to sue in several places: (a) in the state trial court where Gipson lives, (b) in the state trial court where Tord lives, (c) in the state trial court where Sawyer’s estate is l