A blog about the work lawyers do to win commercial disputes by Will Newman
Emojis, once seen as playful expressions, now carry significant legal implications. A recent Canadian court ruling offers a stark example. It determined a thumbs-up emoji acted as a digital signature, binding a business to an $82,200 contract.This ruling underscores that emojis are not mere decorative flourishes; rather, they can bear legal significance in business transactions.
Read MoreEveryone is different, and there is no secret to persuading any individual person. But in general, people respond to messages tailored to them. And so a good presentation to a jury often involves speaking directly to them. This means eye contact with the jury, and it means speaking towards the jury.
Read MoreLower-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.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreAnti-SLAPP statutes do not apply to every lawsuit involving speech. Instead, just as the right to free speech has exceptions for commercial speech, these statutes do, too.
Read MoreA trial court decision from the relevant trial court can be useful, especially since these are even more numerous and thus more likely to have cases with similar facts. This is especially true if you need case law on issues that people may not frequently appeal, such as some kinds of discovery disputes or minor matters. Trial court decisions, however, may be even more helpful since they may themselves cite helpful appellate decisions that some other lawyer or court personnel found that may not have appeared in your search.
Read MoreUntil 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.
Read MoreParties 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 MoreA major challenge in an opening statement is setting the right tone. The lawyer should earn the fact finder’s trust and seem credible, since he or she is asking the jury to see the case the same way that they do. Doing this requires some confidence, but not too much confidence that the jury is put off. The lawyer must also explain the facts, but not go so far into detail that the statement is dry or boring.
Read MoreA prime use of a demonstrative is to emphasize an important piece of evidence. If there is a written confession or a damning quote, showing it to the audience may make it harder to ignore than just describing it. And if there is a photograph that makes it easier for the audience to truly understand the facts, showing it may be easier than describing the scene alone.
Read MoreAccording 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.
Read MoreI 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.
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