Ever had to explain to a client why a sweet win in the lower courts doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s time to dig in and eat? In City of Martinsville, VA v. Express Scripts, a Fourth Circuit majority opinion used a...more
The Washington Supreme Court recently approved significant revisions to that state’s procedural rules on remote depositions. Revised Rule 30 of the Washington Civil Rules will now allow remote depositions to be noticed...more
In civil litigation, depositions are a key pretrial discovery tool used to uncover facts, obtain admissions, gather evidence for motions, and assess witnesses. They prevent “trial by ambush” by revealing crucial information...more
In most cases, the grind of litigation moves forward under the careful scrutiny of courts and within the applicable rules of civil procedure. Settlement, on the other hand, is often separate and secretive; hammered out after...more
Most states have an offer of judgment provision, and many of them are patterned after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68. Unlike Fed. R. Civ. P. 68, some states allow either party—not just the defendant—to make an offer of...more
The question of how to resolve mass torts is one that occupies the minds of all modern commercial litigators. Whether those mass torts involve personal injury or the mis-selling of financial products, resolution is a subject...more
Until very recently, the rule in many jurisdictions was that any individual could attend a deposition unless the trial court ordered otherwise. Some litigators brought expert witnesses to the deposition of the opposing...more
A civil jury trial is a risky proposition in any court, state or federal. To manage that risk, it is usually in each party’s interest to engage in some form of alternative dispute resolution, or ADR. Knowledge of the local...more
When a business is sued in a proposed class action and there is only a small amount at stake on the named plaintiff’s claim, often one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is: can’t we just pay the full value of the named...more
Trial advocacy is a mix of law and theater, requiring a lawyer to know both the law and their audience. Attorneys must effectively argue their client’s case using the evidence and the jury instructions to show their client is...more