A blog about the work lawyers do to win commercial disputes by Will Newman
Most cases settle, but lawyers generally read about cases that proceeded far enough through litigation that a judge wrote a decision. And the decisions that form binding legal precedent usually reflect cases that were not only litigated, but also appealed. Still, there is a lot to learn from the stories of cases that settle.
Read MoreA jury needs to be instructed on many different subjects, not just the elements of the claims at issue. For example, the law dictates what evidence is, what cannot be considered as evidence, how the jury should deliberate, what burden a plaintiff needs to carry to win, and how to calculate the amount of damages to award. In order to enable the jury to apply the law to these subjects, a judge must instruct them.
Read MoreThe first factor I’d recommend is reading the lawyer’s work. Is it easy to read? Does it sound logical? Does the lawyer even have work product for you to read? These are important questions, since a big part of a litigator’s job is to write clearly and intelligently. Even if you are a lay person, a good lawyer’s writing should be understandable. A bad lawyer’s writing may either be unintelligible or, as is often the case, bizarre, sloppy, or ranting.
Read MoreIn general, court hearings must be open to the public, which means that they must be accessible to the public and the media. However, in specific cases (to protect public health, morals, safety or other interests of the parties, persons close to the parties or witnesses), the public and the media may be excluded for all or part of the hearing.
Read MoreParties often negotiate settlement agreements over email. And while a settlement agreement may become official once both sides sign the formal contract the lawyers prepare, it is possible for the emails themselves to become an operative agreement subject to litigation.
Read MoreI find that people take lawyers more seriously when they stick to the facts. If a defendant failed to pay $1 million, just say that. I understand how serious that is and I can work with you to address the underlying issues. But by comparing the defendant to a monster or a criminal, the defendant is more likely to want to clear their name and thus not settle. And the defendant may view the plaintiff as unserious and thus view their claims with skepticism.
Read MoreOnce someone is a fiduciary and they breach a duty, that does not automatically mean that the plaintiff has a winning case. Fiduciaries owe duties to specific people and, if the plaintiff is not one of the people owed the duty, she may not be able to sue for the breach.
Read MoreEvery office is different. Some workplaces are stuffier by nature, priding themselves in being elite institutions. Others are more relaxed, taking pride in being a place that people can do their best work in by being comfortable. As a result, different law firms take different approaches to dress.
Read MoreFederal Iraq has a Federal Supreme Court, which is the court of highest decree in the country. The Kurdistan Region does not have a similar counterpart; however, we can have our cases heard at the Federal Supreme Court as well.
Read MoreCourts are often reluctant to second guess an arbitrator’s decision (although they do on rare occasions). So when people arbitrate their claims, there may not be a chance to ask a court for a do-over. This may be true even when there are conflicts of interest.
Read MoreWhile it is nice to know that a lawyer is available to take the burden of a lawsuit off of a client’s shoulders, a client should also remember that lawyers often bill by the hour. And so it may make sense to delegate the work that a non-lawyer can perform to less expensive workers or for the client to perform the work themselves.
Read MoreSetting traps works when the lawyer is confident that she knows how a witness will answer a question and that the answer will be demonstrably false. So, for example, if the lawyer is confident that the witness will testify that a light was red, the lawyer may ask what color the light was, and then show a picture of a green light to reveal that the witness was wrong.
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