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Litigation

The Illinois Trial Practice Blog

Tips and techniques for trial lawyers, whether plaintiff or defense
By Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C

Post Frequency: 1.8/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2011 at 14:54:42

Video Depositions: the New Legal Art?

Posted on October 28, 2008
Are video depositions the new legal art? That's the view of Dick Dahl in his article "Video Depositions Offer Advantages at Trial"-- [T]the lawyers who practice this relatively new legal art say there's a lot more to producing an effective...

Navigating Illinois Trial Practice by Category: An Update

Posted on October 23, 2008
Since I started this weblog in January, 2004, I've written 751 posts, enough for a good-sized book. Most of these posts are assigned to one or more categories. You can get to these categories by clicking on the list that...

The New Rule 502 and Waiver of Privilege: A Podcast to Keep You Informed

Posted on October 21, 2008
The weekly law-related podcast Coast to Coast has done a podcast about new Federal Rule 502, which establishes a new rule of evidence and is expected to reduce litigation costs-- Every lawyer knows the costs of discovery can escalate. Last...

News for Illinois Lawyers: the ISBA Website, Redesigned

Posted on October 17, 2008
The Illinois State Bar Association wants you to know that it has redesigned its website-- We?ve redesigned our Web site to improve its usability and appearance. The presentation of the home page and navigation has been dramatically simplified so that...

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Tech Tips for Taking Your Law Firm on the Road

Posted on October 14, 2008
Thanks to a variety of Internet-power tools -- some free, some not -- it's easier than ever to work from the road, even outside the country like I'm doing this month in Argentina. My trip wouldn't have been possible without...

Litigation-Related Software Reviews, for Free

Posted on October 09, 2008
A new site, litiReviews, collects and compiles reviews of litigation-related software that you can browse for free. From the site-- Welcome to LitiReviews, the largest collection of free legal and litigation software reviews on the web. All reviews (150+) are...

Read The Jury Expert, Free Online

Posted on October 07, 2008
The Jury Expert is a free online publication that's published by the American Society of Trial Consultants. The September issue contains the following articles, among others-- The Preparation of Narcissistic Witnesses, by Douglas Keene, Charlotte Morris, Lisa DeCaro; The 3...

Illinois Trial Practice, Coming to You This Month from Argentina

Posted on October 07, 2008
Andrea and I have taken Schaeffer & Lamere on the road. This month we're in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Details (if you want them) here at Legal Underground.

Asked and Answered? A Tip for Asking a Question Again

Posted on October 02, 2008
During a deposition, you might be in a situation in which you'd like to ask a question a second or third time. For example, say a witness has testified that he recalls speaking with someone about an important topic. He's...

The Use of Leading Questions During Illinois Depositions

Posted on September 30, 2008
As stated in Supreme Court Rule 206(c)(1), "The deponent in a discovery deposition may be examined regarding any matter subject to discovery under these rules. The deponent may be questioned by any party as if under cross-examination." Don't neglect this...

Still More about Multidistrict Litigation

Posted on September 25, 2008
In August, I began my most recent post about the federal MDL Panel like this: "Every litigator should have a working knowledge of the ins and outs of federal multidistrict litigation." That post contained some good, free resources for learning...

About This Weblog: the Deposition Category

Posted on September 23, 2008
Every post in this weblog is organized into categories, which you'll find listed in a column on the left. Since I started this weblog in 2004, I've done more than 100 posts on depositions, which you can easily find by...

A Writing Tip You Can't Afford to Miss

Posted on September 18, 2008
What's the writing tip you can't afford to miss? Some hints-- It's the topic of Chapter 43 of Bryan Garner's The Winning Brief. There are entire books written about it. It's a problem that's all around us, even in the...

Dictation in the 21st Century: What You Need to Know

Posted on September 16, 2008
Here's a useful article from Law.com: "Legal Dictation Needs to Talk Digital," by Enrico Schaefer-- Lawyers have traditionally dictated documents such as pleadings, correspondence and memos. But today, with digital software, we can use dictation to manage our firms, matters...

Depositions and Interpreters

Posted on September 11, 2008
Lawyers doing a deposition with an interpreter will want to look at two recent posts from Ron Miller at his Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog: "Using Interpreters at Depositions" "More Deposition Tips" In the second post, Miller also links to a...

Podcasts for Lawyers

Posted on September 09, 2008
Podcasts for lawyers? Is there such a thing? The question was thoroughly answered about a year ago during a roundtable discussion posted Law Practice Today: "Legal Talk Radio on Demand: Podcasting for Lawyers - Past, Present and Future." Towards the....

The Top Ten Federal Rules of Evidence, Part 2

Posted on September 04, 2008
As promised in my last post, here's the rest of the Top-10 list of federal rules of evidence, according to lawyer Stephen Saltzburg-- FRE 404, Character Evidence. The exceptions to this rule about character evidence should be committed to memory....

The Top Ten Federal Rules of Evidence, Part 1

Posted on September 02, 2008
Want to ramp up the speed at which you make objections at federal trials? According to lawyer Stephen Saltzburg, there are ten federal rules of evidence that you should make sure you know backwards and forwards. Here are the first...

Videotaping Your Opponent's Deposition

Posted on August 28, 2008
Situation: Your opponent notices a deposition. For one reason or another, you want to videotape it. Do you need your opponent's consent? Obviously, the answer depends on the jurisdiction. The issue recently led to a dispute in New Jersey, as...

A Book Becomes a Blog

Posted on August 26, 2008
As seen at DennisKennedy.bog, a book is now a weblog too. The book: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell, as reviewed here; The weblog: The Lawyer's Guide...

Learn about Federal Multidistrict Litigation

Posted on August 21, 2008
Every litigator should have a working knowledge of the ins and outs of federal multidistrict litigation. Although at Legal Underground, I've done my best to explain how things work by posting about the MDL panel now and then, my tone...

Discovery Tip: Using Model Interrogatories to Fend Off Objections to Discovery

Posted on August 19, 2008
In many jurisdictions, you can find court-approved interrogatories, such as model interrogatories for motor vehicle, medical malpractice, and divorce cases approved by the Illinois Supreme Court. Even if your case doesn't fall under one of the standard categories, you can...

Test Yourself: What Makes a Good Opening Statement

Posted on August 14, 2008
At Winning Trial Practice Techniques, you take a quiz to find out whether your opening statements measure up. It was written by Elliott Wilcox, and answers questions like these: When is the best time to disclose weaknesses in your case?...

Cross-Examination at Trial: Just Say No

Posted on August 12, 2008
Cross-examination at trial? Don't do it, especially if you're a new lawyer. That's the advice of one commentary-judge in Litigation magazine, Mark R. McGarry, Jr., who writes, "It must be said that very few new lawyers (almost none) have the...

Missouri Lawyers: New Expert Rule, Effective January, 2009

Posted on August 07, 2008
There's a new expert rule for Missouri lawyers, effective January, 2009. The change was recently announced in an order issued by the Missouri Supreme Court. See particularly Rule 56.01, which outlines an amended expert interrogatory--(A) A party may through interrogatories...

Trial Tip: Overhead Photos, Courtesy of Google Earth

Posted on August 05, 2008
At the Trial Lawyer Resource Center, Ron Miller recommends using Google Earth for obtaining overhead photos of an accident scene. A commenter agrees-- The use of overhead photos to orient jurors to general geographic location of incidents and then the...

"Please Tell the Jury": A Formula Guaranteed to Make You Sound Pompous

Posted on July 31, 2008
You hear it all the time when lawyers are presenting their experts to a jury or preserving their testimony for trial: "Doctor, would you tell the jury how mesothelioma is diagnosed?" "Mr. Expert, I'd like you to explain to the...

Taking Control of Direct Examination

Posted on July 29, 2008
Has a witness on direct ever given you an unexpected answer to a key question? Did you know how to recover from this tricky situation? For a step-by-step guide, see "What to Do When Your Witness Forgets," by Elliott Wilcox...

Cross-Examining the Liar at Trial: Two Absolute Prerequisites

Posted on July 24, 2008
In the new book, Your Witness: Lessons on Cross-Examination, there is a chapter titled "Cross-Examining the Liar" by Chicago lawyer Dan Webb. Webb, who has cross-examined scores of liars during his long career, begins the chapter by describing the two...

Law Review Articles on the Web

Posted on July 22, 2008
In an article in the July issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, "Finding Free Legal Articles on the Web" (ISBA membership required), Tom Gaylord suggests these sources for finding free online law-review articles-- Google Scholar; SSRN -- Legal Scholarship Network;...

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