Exploring Procedural Justice | Judge Steve Leben | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
When a case proceeds to trial, a legal team may face a critical decision about whether to have it adjudicated by a jury of peers or a single judge. Both options can offer benefits depending on the merits and subject matter...more
Judges represent not only their judicial office, but also the legitimacy of the judicial branch as a whole. For many Americans, their only interaction with the legal system may come from a single trip to the courthouse. This...more
It is not uncommon in litigation for parties to introduce testimony through depositions taken for use at trial. It is very uncommon, though, for a party to request to use their own deposition testimony as their trial...more
Your partner’s battle with cancer came to a tragic end, a struggle intensified by their persistent cigarette smoking. Despite your repeated pleas for them to quit, the addiction proved too strong...more
Litigators and jurists alike frequently use the terms “waiver” and “forfeiture” interchangeably in federal appellate practice. However, these are distinct concepts, and a savvy litigator will carefully consider them when...more
Patience is a virtue. Or is it? These days patience seems to be a character trait that is fading fast. Clients want instant answers and fast results....more
Your firm is five years into a bet-the-company suit. Trial has come and gone, and multiple parties have appealed. After a week of intense negotiations, you send a mass email to your team: “Pencils down everyone! We’ve...more
Deposition transcripts, like other pretrial discovery materials, do not become public records until they’re filed with the court. Before they are filed with the court, they routinely dwell in obscurity, shielded from public...more
From the now decades old asbestos litigation to pharmaceuticals and product liability cases to the newly developing PFAS or “forever chemical” lawsuits, mass tort litigation has increasingly become the tool of choice by which...more
The impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is unsurprisingly significant in the field of education, with some teachers and professors responding by instituting oral examinations, handwritten essays, or requiring...more
James Corey Goode, et al v. Roger Richards Ramsaur, et al, (D. Col. 2023) - Few litigation events cause tempers to flare as surely as depositions, but only once in a blue moon, it seems, will a Court take action against an...more
It is not unusual to hear questions or comments similar to the following from a member of a trial team. “I get all this about ‘themes’ and, of course, we have them, but what do they have to do with all the evidence we need to...more
We have all shared this experience. Jury selection is at 9:00 a.m. on Monday. It is now Sunday night and the national trial team—led by an attorney from out of town—is convening to discuss voir dire and jury selection. A jury...more
Among the 94 U.S. district courts, the “Rocket Docket” is quite special. Officially known as the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), this federal judicial enclave is nationally famous for its long and deeply engrained...more
One of the things I was told by more experienced mentors when I started practicing is that I needed to “learn how to lose.” Having grown up in a family where my father was a coach, losing was anathema. “Show me a good loser...more
An increasingly commonplace procedural mechanism for narrowing evidentiary issues before a hearing begins is the motion in limine. A new proposal proffered by the Commercial Division Advisory Council (“CDAC”), put out for...more
It is no secret by now that remote proceedings are here to stay. Driven at first by the safety protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote proceedings have outlived those protocols, and they remain the preferred forum...more
In 2001, I co-authored an article entitled “An Ancient Art Jazzed by High Tech” for The National Law Journal with fellow litigation consultant, Stan Sandstrom. When we wrote it, I had just a few high-profile cases under my...more
The COVID-19 pandemic augmented our increasingly virtual world. As such, the plethora of data at our fingertips has changed. Business Insider reported that Zoom meeting participants rose from 10 million in December 2019 to...more
Over the last couple years, the courts have updated their practices regarding hearings and pretrials. Most of domestic relations courts are utilizing virtual hearings, whether that is for a pre-trial, settlement conference or...more
The legal industry has adapted rather quickly in order to minimize the pandemic’s impacts on the practice of litigation by enacting orders, rules, and practices to keep the wheels of justice turning. This includes the...more
Join us as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of ACI’s Annual Flagship Conference on Drug & Medical Device Litigation! ACI’s Drug and Medical Device Litigation has united the greatest minds of the pharmaceutical and medical...more
To be sure, much has been reported on here at New York Commercial Division Practice concerning Commercial Division innovation — including in the areas of courtroom technology and, more recently, in adapting to the “new norm”...more
Across the country, restaurants are changing what it means to be a restaurant, movie theaters are changing what it means to be a movie theater, and conferences are changing what it means to be a conference. So maybe it’s...more
So you’re conducting a deposition or cross-examination: Where is the witness? Are they right there in the room with you, or are they many miles away in a room with their computer? With the pandemic still raging across the...more