“Discovery” is a word that frightens many litigants — what it means, the cost, and the time commitment that it will entail. The part of discovery that many litigants are most concerned about are “depositions” — being questioned by your adversary’s attorneys and challenged under oath. I
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Does mediation take time, and can it cost money? Sure. But the amount of time invested by the parties, and the costs, pale significantly in comparison to the time and money that would be expended as the lawsuit moves forward. The potential benefits of meditation are enormous and, in most cases, the risks small.
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“What’s taking so long?” This is a common question asked by clients as a lawsuit goes on and on, oftentimes for year after year.
Sometimes, the passage of time cannot be helped; neither the parties, the lawyers, nor the courts, acting independently, can make a case move faster.
Presumptive ADR, which in many cases will mean mediation, will bring a sea change in the way cases are litigated in New York State. On May 14, 2019, New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced “a transformational move to advance the delivery and quality of civil justice in New York as part of [her] Excellence Initiative.”
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Now that mediation is being used more and more frequently, as discussed recently in this article, what should a party’s goals be in the mediation and how can they achieve them?
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With increasing frequency, mediation is not a choice that can be made by a party in a lawsuit or transaction; the courts are requiring parties to go to mediation.
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The facts underlying many disputes can be very simple. Others may be more complicated. In either case, when preparing a pleading, motion papers, or testimony for a court proceeding, the goal for the attorney and the client should be to tell a straightforward and compelling story, as simply as possible.
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Just as text messaging and email have allowed us to communicate with each other in real time, social media has allowed us to interact with people we don’t really know; or know at all.
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As most of us have become very adept at using email, text, and social media, our lives have sped up. It has become possible for us to instantly connect with one another, feasible to complete transactions with a swipe or a click, and easier to gain knowledge about anything — just Google it. However, along with this has come headaches for attorneys and risks for almost everyon
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Clients often ask whether or not they must go to court. As in many areas, there is a simple answer and a not-so-simple answer. The simple answer is: if you were named as a defendant in a case and were served with the complaint, you must go to court. If you don’t, and assuming you were served properly and the complaint sets forth a legal basis for relief, a default judgment may be entered against you.
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