On October 26, 2015, Thomson Reuters and the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) will host a reception to honor the 182 principal authors of the new Fourth Edition of their critically acclaimed treatise Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts. The reception, which will be combined with a press conference to announce the publication of the Fourth Edition, will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at NYCLA, 14 Vesey Street, in downtown Manhattan. For reservations, please RSVP by visiting NYCLA’s website at www.nycla.org (the reception is listed under “Upcoming Events” on NYCLA’s homepage).
Among the 182 principal authors of the 127 chapters in the Fourth Edition are judges from the New York Court of Appeals, the Appellate Division, and the Supreme Court, and many of the best-known commercial litigators in New York State. Robert L. Haig of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP serves as the editor-in-chief of the Fourth Edition. “Although it is difficult to quantify the authors’ efforts on this treatise,” said Haig, “we conservatively estimate that our authors and their law firms have invested more than $40 million of their own billable time, calculated at their regular hourly billing rates, in working on this treatise and its annual Pocket Parts. We are not aware of any other book in New York in which a comparable investment has been made.”
This treatise has been widely recognized as a unique and invaluable resource and has become the definitive reference work in this area of law. The first three editions of the treatise received an enthusiastic reception from the legal press, reflected in more than 90 favorable book reviews in bar journals and legal newspapers throughout the State of New York.
The new Fourth Edition of this treatise is considerably bigger and more comprehensive than the Third Edition. Twenty-two new chapters have been added in the Fourth Edition to the chapters in the Third Edition. In addition, the chapters carried forward from the Third Edition have been substantially expanded. As a result, the Fourth Edition is eight volumes (there were six volumes in the Third Edition) and contains 10,188 pages (2,419 more pages than the Third Edition). The Fourth Edition also features a separate appendix that contains an index, as well as tables of all laws, rules and cases discussed in the Fourth Edition.
The Third Edition was intended to include a chapter on every subject likely to be of interest to commercial litigators. Commercial litigation in New York State courts has evolved over the past five years, and 22 new chapters have been added in the Fourth Edition to address new subjects that are important to commercial litigators today. The following list of new chapter titles in the Fourth Edition includes a number of subjects whose importance has dramatically increased in recent years: Internal Investigations; Preliminary and Compliance Conferences and Orders; Negotiations; Mediation and Other Nonbinding ADR; Arbitration; International Arbitration; Pro Bono; Reinsurance; Workers’ Compensation; Trade Associations; Securitization and Structured Finance; Derivatives; Medical Malpractice; Licensing; Social Media; Tax; Land Use Regulation; Commercial Leasing; Project Finance and Infrastructure; Entertainment; Sports; and Energy.
Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts is a strategy-oriented treatise that resulted from a joint venture between Thomson Reuters and NYCLA. This was the first time that a commercial publisher and a major bar association in New York have undertaken a joint project of this nature. The First Edition of this treatise was published in 1995. All royalties from sales of this treatise and its annual Pocket Parts go to NYCLA.
The Fourth Edition is a step-by-step practice guide that covers every aspect of a commercial case, from the investigation and assessment that take place at the inception through pleadings, discovery, motions, trial, appeal and enforcement of judgment. Great emphasis is placed on strategic considerations specific to commercial cases. The treatise also contains 53 substantive law chapters that cover the subjects most commonly encountered in commercial cases, including contracts, insurance, sale of goods, banking, securities, antitrust, intellectual property, professional liability, business torts, franchising and many other commercial law topics. The authors discuss the interplay between rules of procedure and substantive law, outline strategies for representation of plaintiff and defendant, and consider ramifications and pitfalls of various actions. The publication includes in-depth text on law and procedure, strategies and client counseling sections, checklists and numerous cross-references. In addition, there are hundreds of pages of essential litigation forms and jury charges in print and on a CD-ROM that comes with the set.
To order the Fourth Edition, call 800-344-5008.
Published September 22, 2015.