How to Make Clear, Quick and Effective Objections
Podcast - A Checklist of Common Objections
In this episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small addresses the art of making effective objections during trial, highlighting the importance of preparation, quick thinking and...more
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Kaiser Gypsum regarding an insurer’s standing to object to a bankruptcy plan under the “insurance neutrality” doctrine. Under the...more
In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small provides a checklist of the most common objections and their shorthand descriptions. Mr. Small shares why he believes this is...more
A government prime contractor with more than 50 employees and a single federal government contract worth at least $50,000 must comply with the federal affirmative action regulations, which includes establishing a written...more
In a notice released on February 7, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) posted an updated final notice of the agency’s impending release of EEO-1 Type 2 (Consolidated) reports for 2016-2020 to all...more
We recently reported on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request covering government contractors’ 2016–2020 Type 2 EEO-1 reports announced in the Federal Register, pursuant to which contractors had until October 19, 2022,...more
Many federal contractors are required to file Type 2 Consolidated Employer Information Reports, Standard Form 100 (EEO-1 Reports). Generally, employers that are subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as...more
Background The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) regulations require employers with 100 or more employees to file an EEO-1 Report with the EEOC. In addition, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’...more
On September 2, 2020, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Continental Vineyard, LLC v. Vinifera Wine Co., LLC, and adopted a new contemporaneous objection rule for the circuit in doing so. In this...more
The Court of Federal Claims’ decision in Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC v. United States serves as a stark reminder to be wary when relying on dicta supporting your position. ...more
Does a state, whose citizens are among the absent class members in a class action settlement, have Article III standing to challenge the supposed unfairness of the settlement? In Chapman v. Tristar Products, Inc., the Sixth...more
SCPA § 1404 requires that “at least two attesting witnesses must be produced before the court and examined before a written will is admitted to probate.” Very often, litigators think of examinations pursuant to SCPA § 1404 as...more
Interrogatories can serve as a useful tool for parties to obtain basic information about their adversary’s case and drive discovery strategy. Serving interrogatories allows parties to identify individuals with knowledge and...more
The Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an March 20th Order responding to a Petition Requesting Objection to the Issuance of a Title V Operating Permit (“Petition”) for the...more
Having heard good things about it for years, last month I finally got around to reading Dr. Atul Gawande’s book, The Checklist Manifesto, and have begun to give some thought regarding its application to class action practice....more
On December 1, 2018, the amendments to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Rule 23”), which governs class actions, went into effect. The amendments codify certain procedures the courts have been requiring or...more
This checklist is intended as an overview to help trial lawyers preserve the record for appeal. It is not exhaustive of all steps necessary to preserve error in every situation. Certain rules may vary by state/federal...more
In challenging the admission of an expert opinion, you should not assume that, because you objected on one basis, you have properly preserved for appeal objections on other grounds....more
Interrogatories submitted to the jury are painstakingly negotiated by trial counsel. But what should you do if the jury goes off on its own, awarding damages that are beyond the scope of the interrogatories and evidence...more
The case involved an award in excess of $800,000 against a home designer and some affiliated companies for a renovation project that went bad. One of the affiliated companies brought an arbitration proceeding against the...more
For those civil practitioners who don’t regularly practice in the Commercial Division – beware. The Unified Court System’s Advisory Committee on Civil Practice (the “Committee”) has proposed that nine (9) Commercial Division...more
Although it might be obvious to attorneys who routinely practice in the federal courts, for those who do not, it is important that specific and timely objections to a federal magistrate’s report and recommendation are filed...more
During a judicial career that spanned more than 25 years, Carlton Fields Shareholder Peter Webster presided over numerous jury trials as a circuit judge and authored hundreds of appellate opinions following his appointment to...more
It is axiomatic that objections not presented to the trial court are deemed waived on appeal. What may come as a surprise, however, is that waiver arguments can also be waived. Thus, a party’s failure to raise a waiver...more
Most recognize the well-known rule that, “once a trial court has definitively ruled on an issue on the record, before or during trial, a party need not renew an objection at trial to preserve a claim for appeal.” A slightly...more