In a standard civil-case caption, what symbol is used to separate the parties?

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The key idea here is the standard way to format party names in a case caption: the plaintiff is listed first, followed by the abbreviation for “versus,” then the defendant. In civil cases, that separator is the letter v with a period, written as v. For example, Doe v. Smith. The period marks that v. is an abbreviation, and this exact form is the traditional, formal style used in opinions, citations, and court documents. Using vs. would come off as informal, and a dash or an arrow wouldn’t convey the opposing parties in a caption. So the correct separator is v. with the period.