More Thoughts on E-Filing

How do you start a lawsuit? The answer in a lot of places and under many situations is by electronically filing a document!

Key Differences Between California State Courts and Federal Courts in Litigation

Federal courts tend to be more structured, with stricter rules and procedures. This can be both a blessing and a curse. For one, it ensures that cases are handled with a high level of scrutiny and professionalism. However, the process can also be slower and more expensive due to the complexity of federal cases.

Recovering Fees and Costs

Once a party wins a lawsuit, they do not automatically get their costs and attorney’s fees repaid. Instead, they need to get the court to approve the amount of money they spent. This ensures that the prevailing party does not claim an exorbitant amount of fees and costs. To do so, they may submit a “bill of costs,” listing all of the expenses they incurred in the suit. A clerk may approve some and disallow others.

Preparing to Take a Deposition

Before the day of a deposition, the lawyer needs to identify the documents she intends to ask the witness about. These should include all of the documents she has questions about and the documents she wants the witness to authenticate. There may also be some “standby” exhibits that the lawyer is ready to show the witness if the need arises.

Demand Letters 2.0

A demand letter will rarely convince someone that they are wrong, because few people ever believe that they are wrong. But if a letter contains a good explanation of the relevant facts and law, it can help the other side's lawyer explain to their client why it may be better to settle than to litigate.

Civil RICO Lawsuits

RICO claims fail a lot because they attract a lot of plaintiffs but require such technical expertise that most lawyers do a poor job of asserting them. Also they are particularly appealing as a last resort for claims that could not succeed in a more straightforward claim.

Case Law Research, Part Two

I think that the best lawyers read court decisions constantly to know what the latest interpretations of the law are. And I confirm that any lawyer that submits a citation to a case in court should actually read the case to understand it and the applicable law.

Turnover Proceedings

A defendant may oppose the proceeding by claiming that her rights to the property are not undermined by the creditor’s judgment. She may do this by arguing that she is distinct from the judgment debtor and the property really belongs to her, without any obligation to the debtor.

Orders to Show Cause

Since judge’s are often very reluctant to interact with any party without hearing from the other side, judges are often reluctant to grant relief unless there is a real emergency. As a result, judges will often hand write on the proposed order their edits or cut out entire sections, limiting the order to what they are comfortable doing having only heard from one side.

Seeking Leave to Appeal

When people appeal, it is usually because they think the lower court made a mistake or used bad reasoning. But fixing mistakes or correcting reasoning is not the only thing that an appeals court may look for. And so petitions for leave often make other arguments besides a need to change the result in the petitioner’s own case. Instead, petitioners may argue that taking the case is important for reasons broader than the individual interests of the parties to the case.

Pre and Post Trial Briefing

After a bench trial concludes, each side will have a copy of all of the exhibits that came into evidence and a transcript of all of the testimony. Instead of relying on the judge to comb through all of that evidence to decide what the facts are, the parties will do that themselves and then present the judge with “proposed findings of fact.”

Hack Attack? Call Your Lawyer, Not Your IT Department

Every organization should have a formal data incident response plan, but most can be simplified to one overarching element: call your cybersecurity counsel immediately. This puts your best player on the field in the first minute of the game. In doing so, you can establish an attorney-client privileged communication channel at the outset. Your outside counsel will serve as your advisor and concierge, coordinating the incident response.