Drive Better Outcomes

As the United States emerges from a prolonged period of remote legal proceedings and reduced in-person interactions to minimize the transmission of COVID-19, many litigators are weighing the desirability of in-person depositions. This time around, however, there are considerations that were not present prior to the pandemic. Responsible lawyers must now take steps to protect the…

Federal litigators aren’t taking sufficient advantage of 2008 amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 502, which gives them the authority to obtain protective orders that can stem the damage from inadvertent disclosure of confidential information during pretrial discovery. So says the Sedona Conference in the recently released Sedona Conference Commentary on the Effective Use of…

Conducting remote depositions during the COVID-19 pandemic required attorneys to litigate cases under unfamiliar circumstances as everyone coped with social distancing and other government health mandates fashioned in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of the circumstances, however, the litigator’s objective has always been the same: to create an accurate record of the deponent’s testimony…

Going on vacation this summer and can’t quite leave the office behind? Consider loading up your phone or smartwatch with podcasts. Legal podcasting is growing right now, and there are many high-quality podcasts in the litigation and insurance defense fields to choose from. Instead of dozing or listening to music during your vacation downtime, you…

Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina begins with a frequently quoted observation: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Happy families, it seems, all enjoy financial security and mutual affection within their homes, while unhappy families suffer from any number of malignant causes. Most difficult endeavors are the same.…

Across the country, court systems are looking to build on the successes of the remote electronic technologies used to administer justice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The legal profession’s effort to resolve novel legal issues relating to virtual proceedings and electronic evidence — already a growing topic of interest before the pandemic struck — is picking…