All Articles

Avery v. State Farm Reversed By Illinois Supreme Court

The Illinois Supreme Court on August 18, 2005, reversed a $1.2 billion verdict entered against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in the national aftermarket parts class action entitled Avery v. State Farm. In this long-awaited decision, the Supreme Court went far beyond the...

Read More

Utilizing A Litigation Management System To Establish A Solid Discovery Plan

There's no escaping the fact that virtually all antitrust cases, and indeed complex litigation of any kind, revolve around documents, often tens of thousands of them in both paper and electronic format. And plaintiff's counsel will want every one of them. When confronted with vast and invasive...

Read More

The Evolution Of Electronic Discovery Practice - Burdensome Discovery

When corporations first began to use computer systems to store information electronically, the legal world was largely unaware of the dramatic effect such a change would have on litigation discovery practices. Even as the use of such systems began to spread rapidly, many attorneys remained...

Read More

Reinsurance: A Changing Environment

The tragedy of September 11 and other recent catastrophic events have pushed the traditionally unseen and unnoticed world of reinsurance to the forefront of the insurance and risk managing industries. This article serves as an overview of this evolving business discipline, as well as certain recent...

Read More

Consistency, Efficiency And Expertise: The Role Of National Coordinating Counsel In The Defense Of Complex Litigation

In this age of corporate scandal, many attorneys are taking advantage of the current public suspicion towards big business by pursuing a wide scope and variety theories of liability against corporate defendants. At the slightest hint of a corporate scandal or product recall, a litany of lawsuits is...

Read More

The Impact Of "Prohibitive Costs" Of Arbitration Upon The Defense Of Class Actions

The invocation of contractual arbitration provisions has long been considered an effective defense to class actions regarding a form contract. By invoking a contractual arbitration clause, defendants may obtain, at minimum, a stay of the judicial proceedings pending arbitration. See, e.g., 9 U.S.C...

Read More