Justice William C. Koch referenced an article by Joseph H. King, Jr. about per diem arguments in his concurring opinion in Elliott v. Cobb, W2009-00961-SC-S09-CV (Sept. 23, 2010). Elliott recognized that lawyers in medical malpractice cases tried in Tennessee have a right to argue the monetary value of the case but cannot…
More and more of the communications between lawyers are conducted by email. For the most part, I approve of the change and, indeed, I proposed and served as the principle author of the new rule of civil procedure that allows for the service of papers in state court via email.…
Winning Trial Advocacy Tips has an excellent post on how to improve the reading of depositions at trial. An excerpt: 4. Tab the appropriate pages. Just like on the radio, you want to prevent the courtroom from filling with “dead air.” When your witness is flipping through pages of the transcript,…
Trial Lawyer Tips has this great post on the need to be aware of what is happening in the courtroom and changing your game plan as the need arises.
The first law review article on the topic of "Wrongful death of children in foster care" has recently been published in the University of La Verne Law Review, 31(1), 25-44. The article is co-authored by Daniel Pollack, Professor, School of Social Work, Yeshiva University, and a frequent expert witness in child welfare and foster care cases,…
The Internet Cases blog alerted me to this case. Apparently, plaintiffs counsel in a medical malpractice case began using his laptop to "Google" potential jurors to learn background information about them. The Court questioned this effort as follows: THE COURT: Are you Googling these [potential jurors]? [PLAINTIFFS COUNSEL]: Your…
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released updated 2009 fatality and injury data showing that highway deaths fell to 33,808 for the year, the lowest number since 1950. The record-breaking decline in traffic fatalities occurred even while estimated vehicle miles traveled in 2009 increased by 0.2 percent over 2008 levels. In…
Adobe has created an Online Digital Signing Service. When the document is digitally signed, no changes may be made to it. The document is also time-date stamped and certified. Read more here.
A lawyer called me the other day and asked me if a lawyer’s communications with his or her private investigator are privileged under Tennessee law. The answer is "yes," as provided in T.C.A. § 24-1-209: Communication between an attorney and a private detective or investigator hired by such attorney, while acting…
This article from NPR caught my eye. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), a physician, said recently on the House Republican website America Speaking Out that the tab runs "an astounding $650 billion each year. That’s 26 percent of all money spent on health care." As the article notes, a series of…