Litigation is the process of taking claims to court — the papers, the waiting, the hearings, the cost — not just one dramatic day in a courtroom. News reports talk about years of litigation. The word sounds heavy and expensive, and people often use it that way on purpose. A lawsuit is one case; litigation can mean that case or the general business of fighting in court. Though actually, speakers stretch it: ‘We want to avoid litigation’ often just means ‘we do not want a court fight at all,’ including the threat of one. It is a formal, institutional word. Friends almost never say it about a small personal quarrel unless lawyers are already involved.