If you decide to sue your landlord for more than $15,000, you have to do it in State or Superior Court. The Defendant may move it to federal court under certain circumstances. Regardless, once it is moved to "Big Girls' Court", you can't just sit back and let the attorney do all the work. Some of the work will be yours exclusively. Even the optional information gathering may cost you in the end of you just sit back and do nothing.
After the answer and before trial, the landlord is likely to send written questions, document requests, and requests for admissions. For the written questions, many are personal questions that the lawyer cannot answer because they relate to things like social media accounts, prior cases, education, etc. It may take you hours or even a day or two to answer these questions and collect documents.
If you claim physical or mental harm or income loss, you will have to provide a history of both. There is no getting around most of these invasive questions and document requests if you make these claims. However, it is easier and cheaper for you to obtain these yourself. If your lawyer has to subpoena the documents and pay for copies, that will take away from the amount of money you will receive at the end. Moreover, if you decide to procrastinate or just not do it, your case may be dismissed or your attorney may get fed up and withdraw from your case. This will occur even if your case is great.
