One of the most important components of the litigation process leading up to trial is the discovery deposition. Deposition is a fancy legal word for a process by which a person sits down in front of a court reporter and gives testimony under oath that is transcribed by that court reporter. A deposition may end…
The Importance of Completeness In every case, there is a “discovery process” where parties exchange information and begin to weed out the issues of a case. Many attorneys make the mistake, however, of assuming that just because materials (be they interrogatories (a fancy word for “questions” in writing), requests to produce documents, requests to admit…
A case often develops and “takes on a life of its own” due to the strategies attempted to be employed by defense attorneys. Essentially, a trial strategy can often draw a striking contrast between the way an incident seemed at the time of its occurrence, and how things are actually presented at trial. A good…
It is one of the hallmarks of our judicial system that everyone is entitled to the same level of fairness in their access to the courts as everyone else. But sometimes, people are afraid to pursue their rights because they are afraid that things they have done in their past–particularly crimes–may be used against them. For the…
Tomorrow is a day we should keep in perspective, take a deep breath and remember. It was Abraham Lincoln who, in 1863, proclaimed (and no matter what side of the political fence you are on, the words are from the heart) “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings…
On October 1, 2010, numerous news articles were released regarding the recently-discovered Syphilis experiment or “study” in Guatemala on unknowing mental health “participants.” Apparently, according to the numerous news articles including one from the Chicago Tribune found here where the doctor involved in the infamous Tuskegee experiment on African-American males in Alabama in the 1970s, Dr. John…
I am often questioned how the Toyota cases will “end up” in the Court system. No way to tell yet. At least for the class action cases. A recent article by The Wall Street Journal here, said a decision is expected in weeks as to the class action “venue” or where the cases could be consolidated…
In a breaking news story here on CNN, former in-house Toyota defense attorney, Dimitrios Biller, declares that he has some 6,000 internal Toyota documents that are “very damaging.” According to the CNN article, Biller claims such documents were routinely withheld from Plaintiff’s lawyers in product liability and negligence cases. Disturbingly, Biller says: ‘There is a regular pattern…
A colleague of mine, friend and great attorney in Wisconsin, Jonathan Groth, noted the signs of an attorney who listens and cares on his blog here when he said: I just finished a jury trial in Milwaukee County. During the trial preparation my client and I were talking about how long we’ve known each other.…
According to Robert Langendorf, one of the attorneys for Mr. Izenstark, and an attorney I am working with on Toyota cases, we believe we have filed the first suit against Toyota in Chicago and perhaps Illinois for the gas pedal problem. Mr. Langendorf was quoted in the front page of the Business Section of the Chicago…