What is this Blog?

I tried for awhile to come up with a catchy and clever name for the blog. I wanted a name that reflects the challenge of a demanding and technical job, that portrays me in a positive light, and that is funny enough to make people laugh and want to read more. But instead I went with “Unpredictable” because it is the word I use frequently to describe the job.

Case Law Research

Making good search terms is a true art that I think only gets better with practice, trial, and error. I am far better at it now than I was when I was in law school or a junior associate. But it's not uncommon to make a search like this if you are looking for a case concerning reasonable reliance in a bank fraud case that was dismissed because it was in the wrong court: (reasonabl! /s rel!) AND ("forum non" /5 (deny or deni!) AND (bank or finan!)

1745836957778
Comments on Recent Cases: April 2025

Parties in litigation have very broad powers to ask questions and gain information about the other parties. This often includes information that is irrelevant to the case. But in some instances, courts will put limits on the subjects of inquiry in discovery.
Read More
1743435977277
Comments on Recent Cases: March 2025

Parties in litigation have very broad powers to ask questions and gain information about the other parties. This often includes information that is irrelevant to the case. But in some instances, courts will put limits on the subjects of inquiry in discovery.
Read More
1740399800168
Comments on Recent Cases: February 2025

After a deposition, a witness should review the transcript of her testimony to make sure that it is accurate. She can note in the “errata” sheet any errors. But the witness can only correct mistakes in the transcription of her words; she cannot alter the substance of her responses in the errata sheet.
Read More
1737981421593
Comments on Recent Cases: January 2025

A defendant in litigation may argue that the plaintiff sued in the wrong court. For example, a California defendant may claim that they should not need to participate in a lawsuit in a New York court. And while judges often decide these issues before the parties need to exchange evidence, sometimes courts require a limited exchange of evidence to decide whether the plaintiff chose the right court.
Read More
1735562791965
Comments on Recent Cases: December 2024

An important part of litigation is the motion for summary judgment. It is a litigant’s opportunity to avoid a trial on the grounds that the opponent has no evidence that can support her claims or defenses. But to prevail, a movant needs good evidence herself.
Read More

1747664796777
More Thoughts on What People Get From Lawsuits

People often view the legal system as deciding what conduct is unacceptable. It provides consequences to people who do unacceptable things like breaching an agreement, stealing, and violence. But people may be unclear about what those consequences can be; the consequences may even be an afterthought. So I wrote a post about what a lawsuit can do to benefit the people who come to court to complain about someone else’s misconduct.
Read More
1747032333320
Specific Documents in New York State Court Litigation

After discovery, one party may file a statement with the court stating that the case is ready for trial. This document is a “Note of Issue.” And once the court has this document, it may schedule a trial and also set dates for the other events that need to take place in advance of a trial, such as a pretrial conference and the deadline for submissions of witness lists.
Read More
1745238593042
More Thoughts on How Long Lawsuits Go On For

The wheels of justice move more slowly than many people expect. Lawsuits, even ones where you are very much right and the other side are bad people, often take months or even years.
Read More
1744635915916
Politics and Commercial Litigation

Part of why I rarely see the influence of politics in my work is because of stare decisis. In general, courts follow the rules set forth by appeals courts. And so judges have limited opportunities to carry out the bidding of powerful interests if doing so required making new law. To do so may require a case with no existing precedent, which may be rare, or a case that proceeds to appeal, which may also be relatively rare for many commercial cases, which often settle.
Read More
1742819218295
More Thoughts on Litigation Expenses

For me, I often find the magic number to around $300,000 - disputes about a number below that amount, in many circumstances, are hard to make work economically.
Read More

1746446120354
Litigation in Haiti

From the complaint to the judgment, the deadline can last up to three months if there aren’t any strikes. Often times it is the clerks who are on strike, other times it is the judges or bailiffs to claim salary adjustments (raises) or better working conditions.
Read More
1744036019810
Litigation in Iceland

"Eðli máls" (the nature of the case) is a recognized source of law in Icelandic legal practice. It is used when there is no explicit statutory provision, precedent, custom, or other clear legal source that directly applies to a particular legal issue. When courts or legal professionals rely on "eðli máls," they base their decisions on reason, fairness, and general legal principles to determine a just and reasonable outcome.
Read More
1740932850599
Litigation in Turkey

In general, Turkey does not have the jury system for any kind of courts or trials. However, the number of assigned judges may vary according to type of the claim and the court. For instance, the commercial courts usually have 1 judge and this is the normal practice. However, if the value of the claim exceeds 300.000 TRY, then a committee of judges (3 judges) handles the claim.
Read More
1738591052853
Litigation in Belgium

In Brussels there are Dutch and French speaking courts. I plead before both of them or other courts in Wallonia in French. We have a small German speaking territory (a leftover feom WWI) and I have had the chance to plead before the local court in German a few times.
Read More
1736167898645
Litigation in Slovenia

Slovenia is a civil law country, so we don’t need to state the law as much as in common law. As a result, 10-20 pages for an initial complaint is average, but it depends on complexity. The complaints in simple cases could be shorter.
Read More