Determine the jurisdiction

If you have the standing to bring in a lawsuit, then your next step would be to determine which court has got the jurisdiction to hear the case. There are two kinds of jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction.

Personal jurisdiction

Personal jurisdiction would determine whether or not a particular state court could hear the case. This is determined at a base level, by whether the defendant had some minimum contact with the state in question. Most often, several courts have competent jurisdiction, and your attorney would decide which offer could be the most favorable venue for your case.

Subject matter jurisdiction

This jurisdiction decides whether you should bring the case to a state or federal court.

If the cause action for the case concerns federal law then the action must be brought to the federal court. Cases like discrimination claims could be brought either under state or federal claw, so you have the choice to select among the state and federal courts.

A lawsuit could also be brought to the federal court if the parties involved are from different states- called as diversity of citizenship and the claim is for more than $75,000.

As a general rule federal courts are a better choice as they have more experienced judges, better clerks and take more care in allowing the cases go to trial than the state courts. On the other hand if you were a plaintiff and hoping to have a sympathetic jury, state court would be a better choice.

Once you have finalized that you have a standing, and also decide upon the jurisdiction and venue you could file your suit.