We recently profiled retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Keys, and he pointed out what we already knew: it isn’t just older lawyers who have a lot of interesting things to say about the practice law. Mentoring flows both ways from junior lawyers to senior lawyers as well as senior to junior. Minnesota Litigator (“ML”): Given the […]
Update (January 8, 2018): Should any governmental body have the power to regulate mobile home parks? To impose rules as to fences, garbage receptacle visibility, permitted neighboring structures (car parks, sheds, etc.)? Presumably few of our readers spend much time in this area of governmental regulation but all of us know that the government imposes […]
Normally, we have a holiday season hiatus at the end of every calendar year, a bit of R&R, stepping back from the relentless demand of a full time legal practice and legal blogging. This year is different. We are spending our holiday season preparing for a trial scheduled to start on January 2, 2018. Talk […]
Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the Year to Come from Minnesota Litigator!
Updated post (December 18, 2017): We knew that the case discussed below, St. Jude v. Muddy Waters, would be a hard-fought lawsuit given the personalities of the litigants and their lawyers. We have not covered the lawsuit’s first year because, really, it’s just getting started. The lawsuit is brought by a medical device maker against […]
Communication is the foundation of all agreements. Miscommunication lurks at the foundation of most contract disputes. When a person or a business (say, a business owner) hires intermediaries to help negotiate a complex agreement (say, a commercial lease) and, in the end, a material term failed to make its way into the final agreement, who’s […]
It is infrequent that we use the Minnesota Litigator blog for downright self-promotion because (1) attorney-client confidentiality concerns often prohibit it; (2) we assume our readers are not interested; or (3) “other reasons” (for example, the “win” is too complicated to explain, publication is inconsistent with our business/marketing strategy, etc.). On the other hand, from […]
We celebrate the attached contempt order, issuing a sanction of over $89,000 in attorneys’ fees for misconduct in discovery, and here’s why: Some years ago, we were preparing for a trial when, in the intense few weeks before the start of the trial, the other side brought a motion to amend to add a claim […]
In Minnesota Litigator’s experience of former U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Keyes, he seems to embody kindness, humility, and professionalism. He has had a long and distinguished career in Minnesota civil litigation and, unsurprisingly, has some important insights as to how our system is succeeding and how it is failing. (In critical ways, it seems to […]
While we have enjoyed significant success over the years in predicting the outcomes of particular motions, lawsuits, or appeals, Minnesota Litigator has tried to predict big waves in civil litigation but our track record there has been poor. Our “big wave” predictions have not run aground with spectacular thundering crashes. Just barely audible tinkles. And […]