As busy lawyers, we deal daily with the dreaded statute of limitations. State of limitations is the legal term referring to the deadline by which a lawsuit must be filed. Perhaps no area of law deals with the SOL more than Personal Injury lawyers. So, there is always some temptation to “fudge” the record if
Litigation and trial practice
Stating the Facts Honestly
As litigators, we are often called on to summarize facts in one way or another. On appeal, we must summarize the facts of a trial below. What happens when we slant those facts? Good advocacy requires that we slant facts to some degree. But, if we go too far, then we have committed a deception…
How to Lose a Lawsuit in One Easy Lesson
Donald Trump has sued or been sued some 4,000 times. He ought to know more than many lawyers how to win a lawsuit. Yet, he and his lawyers consistently violate every guideline regarding successful lawsuits. There are only guidelines, because a litigant can do everything right and still lose. Just like a litigant can do…
Judge Recusal is Last Option
There are few more sensitive issues in litigation than asking a Judge to recuse him/herself. No Judge believes he bears any bias that would affect his rulings. But, in very rare situations, litigants will have to file the appropriate motion. Do not do it the way Alina Habba did it. Ms. Habba responded to one…
Just Another Day in a Trump Trial
I previously wrote a post about emotional outbursts at trial here. Emotional reactions to testimony are strictly forbidden in every courtroom. Donald Trump has managed to get away – sort of – with some outbursts. But, this will not last.
Apparently, Me. Trump decided to attend his civil fraud trial in New York when…
No Jury for Trump’s Civil Fraud Lawsuit
Donald Trump and his family are on trial for allegedly defrauding banks and businesses. Judge Engoron has already granted summary judgment against the Trumps. That means he has ruled there is no genuine issue f fact such that a jury is needed. The only remaining issue is damages.
Mr. Trump was upset that there was…
Emotional Responses Not Allowed in Court
Forty years ago, I was a young lawyer working for a long-time judge in rural Louisiana. Judge Robert P. Jackson had been a judge for a couple of decades and a prosecutor before that. Judge Jackson had seen it all. But, one day, on a Friday of course, we had a divorce case. A Cuban…
Judge Finds Trump Committed Fraud for Decades
Once again, Trump lawyers give us a master class in how not to litigate. Donald Trump was sued in New York civil district court for civil fraud. Attorney General James claimed the Trumps perpetrated fraud among lenders when they vastly overstated the value of their holdings. A couple of days ago, the judge presiding over…
Fifth Circuit Relies on Pretext Plus
In the recent decision in January v. City of Huntsville, No. 22-20380 (%th Cir.7/24/2023), the Fifth Circuit has returned again to its old friend, the discredited “pretext plus” doctrine. I have previously written about this insidious doctrine here and here. In January, a fire fighter had gall bladder surgery. The surgery was…
Lawyers Sanctioned for False ChatGPT Research
So, the lawyers who took much of their briefing from ChatGPT have been sanctioned. ChatGPT created case law out of whole cloth. It created non-existent holdings from those cases that simply did not exist. I previously wrote about that brief here. This is not a surprising result. Whatever the source, every lawyer has a…