Fall 2013, Data, Documents, and Decisions

Winning Your Case Using Visual Grammar

Frank Sommers, Dan Roam

Drawing freehand sketches during oral presentation grabs an audiences' attention in the courtroom or boardroom.

The Electric Kool-Aid Judgment Test Making Your Papers Come Alive

Frank Sommers, Rob Bunzel

Linking complex briefs and their exhibits in electronic documents can help judges follow your argument.

Sua Sponte A Judge Comments

Hon. Berle M. Schiller

A judge offers his thoughts on whether or not electronic documents really help your case.

Remove Your Case to Federal Court Lesser Known Options

Andrew E. Shipley

When you need to get a case out of state court, the federal officer removal statute may provide a winning option.

Litigation & Trials

Tips for Lawyers Writing in a Time Crunch

Anna Hemingway and Jennifer Lear

These guidelines for writing on a tight deadline help provide relief for stressed litigators.

Arbitration for the Trial Lawyer

Jeffery D. Ubersax

With the importance of alternative dispute resolution growing, this overview prepares litigators for the nitty-gritty of arbitration.

The Ethics of Joint Representation

Lucian T. Pera

Representing more than one client in the same matter is a potential minefield. Here's how to avoid an explosion.

Five Traits of the Best Lawyers I Know

Don Bivens

Good lawyers come from all sorts of backgrounds, but often share common traits.

Rethinking Civil Litigation in Federal District Court

Hon. Patrick J. Walsh

A judge suggests ways to conform litigation practices to present-day realities.

On the Papers: The Style Proclaims the Lawyer: You Are What You Write

George Gopen

Your prose must proclaim not only what is going on in a case but also who you are.

Collecting Data from Mobile Devices

Michael Arnold

The power, convenience, and affordability of mobile devices pose challenges for lawyers--discover your options.

Advance Sheet: Anonymity Anyone?

Robert E. Shapiro

Are the old rules on privacy still good enough?

Contrasting U.S. Litigation and International Arbitration

Oleg Rivkin

Among the differences: in most international arbitrations, parties and their counsel are required to commit firmly and early to the facts they expect to prove.

Sidebar: Change

Kenneth P. Nolan

A description of the ways in which lawyers need to change to function in a changed legal landscape.

Scruples: Interfering with Client Relationships

Michael Downey

What can you do under current ethics rules if a rival steals a client?

Privilige: Who Is the Client in the Closely Held Corporation?

Edna Selan Epstein

Lawyers get hired and paid to worry about things no one else expects to, or much less wants to, worry about. Just imagine what your client would think if you voiced these dark-of-the-night worries: “I thought you were my friend! I thought I could rely on you to solve my problems for me, not to create ones where none exist.”

First Time Lawyer: Leading Your Way Through Cross-Examination

Kelley Barnett

Cross-examination can be the most thrilling and anxiety-provoking phase of trial. The cross-examining lawyer stands up. The witness’s chest tightens. The jury leans forward, waiting for the hammer to come down.

Trial Practice: The Next Step?

Chip Babcock

The lawyer considered his next step but hesitated. It was dark, his eyesight was failing, and he feared there was a curb hidden beneath the snow. If he stumbled and fell, he wondered, could he get an ankle replacement to go with his hips and (left) knee? Plus his hearing was failing. “I might not hear the snowplow and might get run over,” he thought