A blog about the work lawyers do to win commercial disputes by Will Newman
Lawyers often supplement the evidence in a case with documents they find online. A first step they often take is using search engines to see if the key people in a lawsuit have written or spoken about the subject. For example, a defendant who denies using racist language may have used similar language on an online message board.
Read MoreIn a recent case, New York’s highest court held that the publisher of a book of landlord tenant laws was not deceptive when it published a volume that omitted numerous relevant laws that long predated its publication. The majority held that the book expressly stated that it did not represent its accuracy and the very fact that laws can change means that no one should rely upon it to be perfectly accurate.
Read MoreFrench courts do not reimburse all of a prevailing party’s legal fees, but the court can award a very high amount (over a hundred thousand Euros) in the commercial court. The reimbursements are less, and mostly symbolic in other courts, like the employment, civil, criminal, and administrative courts.
Read MoreGetting answers usually involves working with the client and often reviewing source documents to ensure that the answers are correct. This is because a party is often bound by the answers provided in the interrogatories, so it is important that the responses are accurate. Moreover, the client often needs to sign a verification statement, swearing under oath that the statements in the interrogatory responses are true.
Read MoreUnlike an argument in a bar or at the dinner table, oral arguments in commercial litigation usually have an organized structure. In a trial court, the judge normally invites the lawyer making a motion to explain why her motion should be granted. And at an appellate court, the judges invite the appellant’s lawyer to explain why the trial court’s decision should be reversed. Then the lawyer begins speaking and opposing counsel is supposed to remain silent. The judge or judges, however, may interrupt with questions and even maintain a back and forth conversation with the attorney about the arguments.
Read MoreOne way in which courts have the power to enforce their orders is by holding disobedient parties in contempt. When a party is in contempt, they could be forced to pay fines or even put in jail. Although I have never personally seen a party in a commercial case put in jail for contempt, I have read a few cases where courts have awarded fines.
Read MoreA movant will often submit a legal report, called a brief or memorandum of law, explaining why the motion should be granted. The brief will usually recount the facts of the case and cite relevant law that explains why the judge should grant the motion. These documents can range in length from a few pages to twenty-five or more. Briefs often refer to evidence and, when they do, they cite to supporting affidavits or declarations.
Read MoreIn Cameroon, some courts follow the common law system and others follow the civil law system. This is due to the bijural nature of the country that dates from time of colonisation by Britain and France. In the Supreme Court, common law and civil law judges sit together as a panel to hear matters. Each type of judge decides matters concerning their legal system.
Read MoreMany class action settlements are very low. Sometimes the class members get fewer than a hundred dollars, or even no money at all, but a free product instead. This is because the damages to individual plaintiffs may be low, and because settlements generally do not fully compensate plaintiffs as they reflect a compromise between the parties. But even when the payments to class members is low, the plaintiffs’ attorney may receive a substantial payment from the defendant for their fees working on the case.
Read MoreOnce a lawyer has reviewed all of the documents, she may re-review them with the knowledge she gained from reviewing other documents. In this phase, e-mails and documents that did not seem to provide information before may seem very different. For example, once the reviewer learns how rarely the president of the company writes about a subject, and email from her may seem more important than it seemed at first.
Read MoreA party in litigation may give an adversary a series of statements to which they must admit or deny. For example, one may say “Admit you were an employee of X Corp. on January 5, 2017.” These are called “notices to admit.” But courts have held that their use has limits.
Read MoreAn affidavit will often have the “caption” or the name of the relevant lawsuit at the top of the page. Beneath that is usually the title of the document in all caps: AFFIDAVIT OF JANE SMITH. And then after a paragraph that says that the person who signed the affidavit (often called the “affiant”) did so under oath, there are usually a series of numbered paragraphs.
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