Pro Hac Vice

Why should you consider having a lawyer get admitted pro hac vice instead of just hiring local counsel to represent you? Because if you already have a relationship with a lawyer you trust, you may feel more comfortable with them representing you that with a stranger. This is especially true if you believe that your lawyer is particularly skilled or capable. And if you use your existing lawyer, you don't need to pay to bring a new lawyer up to speed on facts of the case if your existing lawyer already knows the facts.

Deposition Designations

Witnesses swear to tell the truth at the start of their depositions, just as they do when they testify in court. And violating that oath is technically a crime, just as it would be for lying in court. And a court reporter makes a verbatim transcript of the deposition, which allows lawyers to submit the exact same testimony at trial.

Litigation in British Columbia

Lawyers in British Columbia only have to wear a gown for civil trials and when appearing before the Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Answers

Answers are usually relatively inexpensive documents to draft because they do not need to be well-crafted narratives that persuade people of the defendant’s innocence. Defendants have other opportunities in a lawsuit to explain their story, such as in motions to dismiss the case and at trial.

Comments on Recent Cases: July 2020

A Manhattan appellate court recently held that a sexual harassment plaintiff needs to disclose in discovery the application she submitted to stay in the United States through a visa program for the survivors of human trafficking. The court held that the plaintiff’s objection to producing the application did not specify any ground, and so it waived any objection “based on any ground other than privilege or palpable impropriety.”

Complaints

When a client tells a lawyer she wants to sue someone, she may not know all of the possible causes of action. She may just know that the defendant has done something wrong. It is up to the lawyer to use her own knowledge and research to determine what causes of action address the defendant’s conduct.

Relief

The most straightforward thing that people can seek in a lawsuit is money. If you allege in a lawsuit that a defendant caused you to lose a certain amount of money, or failed to live up to a promise to pay you a certain amount of money, you can seek a judgment that directs the defendant to pay you that money.

Litigation in Palau

Land matters are complex since a lot of the testimony comes from old people and some have a hard time traveling from other islands. Rules for intervention during a case are lax, so people will often show up midway through a case. Some land cases in Palau last literally decades.

Lawsuits Often Take Awhile

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.

Litigation in China

Theoretically, China has the system of people’s jurors. In many cases, a tribunal of three members may be composed of one or two jurors. However, as of now, jurors really only sit to meet the quorum of a tribunal of three members. They will not actually decide any facts though they do have the power theoretically. Instead, the presiding judge will decide the facts.

Comments on Recent Cases: May and June 2020

Few employers think they are guilty of racial or sexual discrimination when they fire someone. But even for employers that comply with the law, responding to a discrimination claim may still require depositions and legal argument. This is why employers should take proactive measures to ensure they avoid the risk of litigation and prepare themselves well if a dispute arises.

Paying for Litigation

Under the “American Rule,” plaintiffs and defendants usually pay for their own lawyers, even after one of them prevails. This is why parties often settle cases: no one wants to spend more on legal fees than they recover or than the amount of a judgment they avoid. But in some situations, a prevailing litigant may recover their attorneys’ fees from their adversary.