Thomson Reuters and the American Bar Association Section of Litigation published in December the new third edition of Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts. Among the 251 principal authors of the 130 chapters in the third edition are 22 federal judges and many of the best-known commercial litigators in the United States. Robert L. Haig of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP is the editor-in-chief.
The second edition of this treatise was published in 2005, and positive reviews of it were published in numerous legal newspapers and bar journals throughout the United States. For example, in a review published in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin on October 6, 2006, Tyrone C. Fahner, the chairman at that time of Mayer Brown LLP, wrote: “In a world of increasing legal complexity and professional competition, the second edition, as edited by Robert L. Haig, must be considered the best, most complete and user-friendly treatise on civil federal court litigation currently in print.”
The new third edition of this treatise is considerably bigger and more comprehensive than the second edition. Thirty-four new chapters have been added in the third edition to the 96 chapters in the second edition. In addition, the 96 chapters carried forward from the second edition have been substantially expanded. As a result, the third edition is eleven volumes (there were eight volumes in the second edition) and contains 12,742 pages (3,800 more pages than the second edition). The third edition also features a separate appendix that contains tables of all jury instructions, forms, laws and rules, and cases discussed in the treatise. This appendix will be replaced annually, making it easy for readers to find precisely what they are looking for in one place.
The 96 chapters in the second edition published in 2005 were intended to provide a chapter on every subject likely to be of interest to commercial litigators. Commercial litigation in federal courts has evolved over the past six years, and 34 new chapters have been added in the third edition to address new subjects that are important to commercial litigators today. The following list of new chapter titles in the third edition includes a number of subjects whose importance has dramatically increased in recent years: Internal Investigations; Comparison with Commercial Litigation in State Courts; Coordination of Litigation in State and Federal Courts; International Arbitration; Crisis Management; Pro Bono; Regulatory Litigation with the SEC; Derivatives; Commodities and Futures; Medical Malpractice; Reinsurance; Consumer Protection; Licensing; Occupational Safety and Health Claims; Immigration; Executive Compensation; Food and Drug; Privacy and Security; Prior Restraint on Speech; Federal Claims Based on Land Use Regulation; White Collar Crime; Interplay Between Commercial Litigation and Criminal Proceedings; Money Laundering; Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; Export Controls; Alien Tort Statute and Torture Victim Protection Act; False Claims Act; Administrative Agencies; Government Contracts; Tax; Project Finance and Infrastructure; Sports; Entertainment; and Information Technology.
The third edition of this treatise is a step-by-step practice guide that covers every aspect of a commercial case, from the assessment that takes 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 third edition also contains 63 substantive law chapters, which cover the subjects most commonly encountered in commercial cases, including securities, antitrust, banking, contracts, insurance, sale of goods, intellectual property, professional liability, business torts, franchising, and many other business and commercial law topics. Covered as well are compensatory and punitive damages and other remedies.
The special features and categories of information in the third edition of this treatise include in-depth text on law and procedure, strategies and client counseling sections, procedural and practice checklists, checklists of essential allegations and defenses, checklists of sources of proof of allegations and defenses, hundreds of pages of essential litigation forms and jury charges, and numerous cross-references. These features were designed to provide the reader with everything needed to handle every aspect of a commercial litigation. The format makes this wealth of information equally accessible and useful for the commercial litigator when he needs an immediate answer for the client on the telephone; during a five-minute deposition recess; or when he has several hours to read and learn at leisure.
To facilitate further legal research, many chapters in the third edition contain research references to West’s Key Number Digest, the A.L.R. Library, legal encyclopedias such as Am. Jur. 2d and C.J.S., other treatises, compilations of forms, and numerous law reviews. The CD-ROM that comes with this publication contains all of the jury instructions, forms, and checklists that are included in the printed volumes.
This publication is the result of a highly successful joint project between Thomson Reuters and the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. All royalties from sales of this treatise and its annual Pocket Parts go to the ABA Section of Litigation.
More information about the third edition of Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts is available by calling Thomson Reuters at (800) 344-5009 or online at www.west.thomson.com.
Published January 19, 2012.