Fall 2014, Practice Makes Perfect

Navigating the Government’s Use of Parallel Proceedings

Patricia M. Sulzbach

An examination of what the government can and can't do when simultaneously pursuing civil and criminal cases against the same defendant.

Rule Of Law

American Prosecutorial Imperialism?

Are we trying to export our values using criminal laws and regulations?

Mending the Wall: A Call for a Presumption of Privacy in the Federal Civil Rules

The authors argue that all documents produced in civil discovery should be presumptively confidential.

Sua Sponte: A Judge Comments

Hon. Paul W. Grimm

A judge offers a critique of the views in "Mending the Wall."

Apex Witnesses Claim They Are Too Big to Depose

Hon. Iain D. Johnston

Opinions vary on when a witness at the top of an organizational structure should be required to be deposed.

The Trials of Clinical Education

Some third-year law students get an eye-opening look at their future career by appearing in court before a judge on behalf of a real client.

A Recent Grad Assesses Clinical Education

Rachelle M. Navarro

As a law student, the author learned crucial lessons when representing her first client.

Legal Education

Long-Overdue Medicine for What Ails Law School

James E. Moliterno

A law school turns its third year into a guided apprenticeship and sees big rewards.

Opening Statement: Practical Advice from a Practical Lawyer

Nancy Scott Degan

An experienced lawyer distills 30 years into 10 tips.

From the Bench: Four Judgeships

Hon. Bernice Bouie Donald

A federal appellate judge shares her life story and views.

iWitness: How to Protect Data from Uncle Sam

At least once a week we are reminded that law firms' cybersecurity is at risk.

On the Papers: Misconceiving the Writing Task: The Toll Booth Syndrome

George D. Gopen

Lawyers are educated people. Lawyers are smart people. Lawyers write for a living. Why then is so much legal writing so unnecessarily hard to read? At least in part, it stems from a misconception of the nature of the writing task.

Global Litigator: The Rocky Relationship Between the General Counsel and the Corporate Compliance Officer

Zane Gilmer

Corporations have begun to consolidate the roles of GC and CCO, creating myriad compliance and litigation risks.

Advance Sheet: Know Your Political Theory

Robert E. Shapiro

The Constitution is not a mere code of laws; it needs special care and consideration whenever one goes to construe it.

Sidebar: Going Too Far with Witnesses

Kenneth P. Nolan

You can learn to ask piercing questions, but it is harder to know when to stop, sit down, and shut up.

Scruples: Letters of Protection

Michael Downey

We explore the ethics around these guarantees of payment from a law firm to a doctor.

Legal Lore: A Deserter in France: The Strange Case of Private Wayne E. Powers

Fred L. Borch

In March 1958, French police discovered a man concealed under the stairs in a home in Mont d’Origny, France. The man was Private Wayne E. Powers, an American soldier who had deserted from his unit in December 1944. Since that time, Powers had been hiding out in France and, over the next 13 years, had fathered five children with the French woman who owned the home in which he was discovered. What follows is the story of Private Powers’ 1958 trial by court-martial for desertion and its rather surprising aftermath.

Evidence: The Tactical Choice under Federal Rule of Evidence 703

Edward Imwinkelried

You can use a witness who happens to be an expert in several ways. For instance, the witness may testify to facts, express a lay opinion, or give the jury a lecture about a scientific theory or technique. However, the expert’s proponent usually wants the witness to do more, namely, to derive a relevant opinion by applying a general theory or technique to case-specific facts. While Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert, 509 U.S. 579 (1993), control the type of theory or technique the expert may rely on, Rule 703 governs the way in which the expert learns the case-specific facts.

First-Time Lawyer: Top 10 First Trial Mistakes

Kelley Barnett

For litigators, your first trial—like many of life’s other firsts—is both exciting and frightening. But despite the countless hours of preparation, many litigators make some common mistakes in this very important “first.” Here are some traps for novice litigators hoping to ace their first trial