Recent Posts
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![Amicus Briefs]()
Amicus Briefs
Amicus briefs are still formal documents, not just a comment in a website’s comments section. This means that, even though a brief may nominally come from a person or organization, it is really written by a lawyer and in the style of a legal argument. The brief must explain who the “amicus” (the “friend of the court” who is offering the brief) is, why they have an interest in the case, and then set forth the amicus’s argument.
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![Gathering Information]()
Gathering Information
I sometimes work with private investigators who call and meet with people to learn more about the subjects of an investigation. And sometimes I do this work myself, picking up the phone or writing emails, contacting people who may have helpful information.
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![Closing Arguments]()
Closing Arguments
A trial may drag on for awhile, and so the closing statement gives a lawyer the chance to get the fact finder to recall important evidence from the beginning of the trial. And to assign some weight to the evidence: a witness who spoke for three days may not be more important than the one who spoke for an hour, and so the closing statement lets the lawyer spend more time on the important details and convey to others the relative importance of evidence.
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![Litigation in Cyprus]()
Litigation in Cyprus
The 2022 reforms to the justice system includes the establishment of a Commercial Court which was approved in Parliament in May 2022. The Commercial Court will be comprised of judges with experience in commercial matters. It will examine cases involving “commercial disputes” relating to claims over €2.000.000, but in addition, irrespective of the amount in dispute, the Commercial Court will have jurisdiction to also hear all matters relating to competition law, intellectual property, and arbitration.
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Litigation Practice
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![Amicus Briefs]()
Amicus Briefs
Amicus briefs are still formal documents, not just a comment in a website’s comments section. This means that, even though a brief may nominally come from a person or organization, it is really written by a lawyer and in the style of a legal argument. The brief must explain who the “amicus” (the “friend of the court” who is offering the brief) is, why they have an interest in the case, and then set forth the amicus’s argument.
Read More -
![Gathering Information]()
Gathering Information
I sometimes work with private investigators who call and meet with people to learn more about the subjects of an investigation. And sometimes I do this work myself, picking up the phone or writing emails, contacting people who may have helpful information.
Read More -
![Closing Arguments]()
Closing Arguments
A trial may drag on for awhile, and so the closing statement gives a lawyer the chance to get the fact finder to recall important evidence from the beginning of the trial. And to assign some weight to the evidence: a witness who spoke for three days may not be more important than the one who spoke for an hour, and so the closing statement lets the lawyer spend more time on the important details and convey to others the relative importance of evidence.
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![Products Liability Litigation]()
Products Liability Litigation
In some situations, the law will impose “strict liability” on a defendant. This means that, if a plaintiff is injured, it does not matter whose fault it is. This is meant to give manufacturers an incentive to make their products so safe that the risk of any injury, even one they could claim is not their fault, is low.
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![TV and AI: Mixing Two Topics and Four Letters]()
TV and AI: Mixing Two Topics and Four Letters
A few years ago, I wrote posts about technology and the law and about how litigation is depicted on television. As kind of a mash-up of these posts, I asked Google Bard to write a blog post about litigation on television. And, to my surprise, the post was actually pretty insightful. So I’m sharing that post and my commentary on it and on legal insights written by AI.
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![Surprises]()
Surprises
Surprises also arise before trial. Sometimes in discovery, lawyers will discover emails that contradict their understanding of the case. And sometimes, parties will make surprising offers to settle (or not to settle) or decisions about what arguments to pursue. Lastly, I am often surprised by lawyers acting weird, which they frequently do.
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![When Not to Litigate]()
When Not to Litigate
Some defendants may also litigate cases that cost more money to defend than to settle because they want to set their own internal precedent. They want potential plaintiff to know that they will not hand out easy settlements to anyone who sues them, but instead will fight. This may cost short term losses, but may save money in the long run by discouraging additional weak lawsuits.
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![Qui Tam Litigation]()
Qui Tam Litigation
Plaintiffs normally sue defendants to recover for a loss they suffered. In fact, a plaintiff often must show “standing,” or the fact that they are the right party to sue the defendant because they are the ones who suffered the loss the defendant caused. But in some situations, a plaintiff may sue to recover money that the defendant stole from the government.
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Interviews
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![Litigation in Cyprus]()
Litigation in Cyprus
The 2022 reforms to the justice system includes the establishment of a Commercial Court which was approved in Parliament in May 2022. The Commercial Court will be comprised of judges with experience in commercial matters. It will examine cases involving “commercial disputes” relating to claims over €2.000.000, but in addition, irrespective of the amount in dispute, the Commercial Court will have jurisdiction to also hear all matters relating to competition law, intellectual property, and arbitration.
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![Litigation in Argentina]()
Litigation in Argentina
As far as the national jurisdiction is concerned, and focusing on civil and commercial disputes, it tends to be approximately five years for a first instance judgment, and then some more months for the appeals. This is an approximation, since it depends on the complexity of the matter and the judicial office in charge.
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![Litigation in Switzerland]()
Litigation in Switzerland
Although the Swiss legislature allows for the electronic filings of submissions, this has so far not become common practice. Electronical filings require the use of officially accredited platforms and digital signatures. Some of the courts offer this possibility, others don’t.
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![Litigation in Paraguay]()
Litigation in Paraguay
Lower-level courts often consult with the higher-level courts before trial to be assured that their judgments will not be appealed, which works quite well for simple disputes. But when it comes to complex disputes between large corporations, the lower-level courts cannot really issue an unappealable judgment.
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![Litigation in the Netherlands]()
Litigation in the Netherlands
Until February 2022, we still faxed documents to court. But now we can send some procedural documents to court digitally, though some things we still need to file physically. Zivver is the online service we use to send documents electronically to Dutch courts, although in some of the district courts, you can use email.
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![Litigation in Japan]()
Litigation in Japan
According to the statistics published by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Court of Japan in August 2023, at the district court level, among all the cases which ended in 2022, 45.8% of the cases ended with judgments, but 32.8% of the cases ended with a settlement.
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![Judgment Enforcement Challenges in Mexico]()
Judgment Enforcement Challenges in Mexico
In Mexico City, I estimate that it takes an average of a year to a year and a half to get a decision from the lower court. But I had a case that took ten years to get a judgment from the lower court and I have also had cases that proceeded to judgment in two months.
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![Litigation in Bosnia and Herzegovina]()
Litigation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 2022 reforms to the justice system includes the establishment of a Commercial Court which was approved in Parliament in May 2022. The Commercial Court will be comprised of judges with experience in commercial matters. It will examine cases involving “commercial disputes” relating to claims over €2.000.000, but in addition, irrespective of the amount in dispute, the Commercial Court will have jurisdiction to also hear all matters relating to competition law, intellectual property, and arbitration.
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Commentary
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![Comments on Recent Cases: March 2024]()
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![Comments on Recent Cases: February 2024]()
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![Comments on Recent Cases: January 2024]()
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![Comments on Recent Cases: December 2023]()
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![Comments on Recent Cases: November 2023]()
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![Comments on Recent Cases: October 2023]()
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![Comments on Recent Cases: September 2023]()
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![Comments on Recent Cases: August 2023]()
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More CommentaryComments on Recent Cases: March 2024
Once a lawsuit is over, a plaintiff may face obstacles in trying their same lawsuit again. Courts respect the principle of res judicata, which means that once a case is decided, the decision is binding in future lawsuits. But still, some litigants test the limits of what that means.
Read MoreComments on Recent Cases: February 2024
Communications between clients and lawyers are generally protected from use by opponents in litigation. But the privilege may also protect communications among non-lawyers in response to a question posed by counsel, even if those communications are disclosed in litigation. This is because a privilege that protects trial preparation materials may protect those communications.
Read MoreComments on Recent Cases: January 2024
I wrote the cover story in the most recent issue of Litigation News, a publication of the ABA Section of Litigation. It is about a split among the federal appellate courts concerning whether laws that prohibit gender affirming medical care to minors are constitutional. And it considers how different framings of the same law result in different levels of scrutiny that courts apply.
Read MoreComments on Recent Cases: December 2023
The preservation of emails and other electronic documents is important in litigation. The deletion of files, even for benign reasons, can result in punishment in litigation. But a judge has wide discretion in imposing that punishment, and the penalties are not automatic.
Read MoreComments on Recent Cases: November 2023
Parties in a commercial dispute have to follow laws and contractual obligations. But they must also act reasonably, even if there are no specific rules governing a particular act. This is because judges often find ways to punish litigants for unreasonable conduct.
Read MoreComments on Recent Cases: October 2023
I have seen several cases in which a plaintiff sues defendant for the acts of a third party. Often, the defendant argues that the third party is to blame, but this argument may not work if the defendant signed a guarantee on behalf of the wrongdoer.
Read MoreComments on Recent Cases: September 2023
In addition to awarding the amount due on a contract in litigation, a court can award interest that runs from the date the amount was due. In many jurisdictions, the interest rate can be high. In New York, for example, it is nine percent. In Massachusetts, it is twelve percent. Not only does this provide an incentive for defendants to avoid breaching contracts, but it also provides an incentive to resolve litigation quickly.
Read MoreComments on Recent Cases: August 2023
Late last month, I argued an appeal. It was a classic debate over the extent to which an out-of-state defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in another state. Just as lawyers learn in their first year of law school, the court must consider the contacts between the defendant and the forum state. And a defendant must explain why the case is similar to previous cases that decided against jurisdiction, and different from those that held otherwise.
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