5.2 The Case Theory and Strategy (the Interview's Output)

The case theory — the one-sentence story that wins: "We win because [the element is proven by the evidence / the defence defeats their element]." The theory's tests: the elements' match (the law's elements vs. the proven facts — the gaps honestly listed); the evidence's match (each element backed by a witness, a document, a thing); the weakness's honesty (the adverse fact known and pre-answered, not discovered at trial); the theory's simplicity (the jury-of-one test: can a stranger repeat it after one hearing?). The strategy's options: the negotiation vs. the litigation (the settlement's cost-time-certainty math vs. the trial's principle- precedent stakes); the ADR's fit (the mediation and arbitration options — the settlement culture's course-companions); the forum's and the timing's choices (the limitation's immediate check — the first advice's question); the theory's documentation (the memo-to-file: the theory, the evidence- map, the risks — the counsel's own record).