Litigation got out of control at the beginning (7)
I believe the answer is:
initial
'at the beginning' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'litigation got out of control' is the wordplay.
'out' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'of control' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'control' mean this).
'litigation' with 'got' taken away is 'liiatin'.
'liiatin' with letters rearranged gives 'INITIAL'.
(Other definitions for initial that I've seen before include "Relating to the beginning" , "Word's first letter" , "Letter - opening" , "Start of name" , "Sign" .)