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Shook, Hardy & Bacon's Civil Justice Reform Initiatives
The fairness of a civil justice system can best be evaluated, not in polemic debates or in the lay press, but in the litigation trenches. That is where litigants learn not just what law applies to the case, but how the law is applied - across different jurisdictions, different judges and...
Read MoreCivil Justice Reform - Law Firms A Revolutionary, Not Evolutionary, Idea: How Defendants Can Achieve Tort Reform In The Courts
In-house counsel can act as strategic command in a revolutionary new approach to legal reform - winning tort reform through the courts. As any torts casebook clearly shows, appellate courts make more than 95 percent of tort law. Tort law is common law. It is organic. It is subject to constant...
Read MoreProject: Corporate Counsel Part II (Unintended Consequences) - Law Firms Fleeing The System: A Product Liability Attorney's Perspective
Editor: Corporate counsel are concerned about the preemption of the judicial function by attorneys general. What is your reaction to that concern? Koon: In the pharmaceutical litigation we handle we are increasingly seeing policy made not through prospective rules laid down through advance...
Read MoreProject: Corporate Counsel Part I (Unintended Consequences) - Law Firms Curbing Abuses And Overreactions - There Are Answers
Editor: The use of contingency fee lawyers by state attorneys general can lead to serious abuses. What is being done by organizations you represent to curb these abuses? Schwartz: The American Legislative Exchange Counsel (ALEC, www.alec.org), an organization of approximately 2,500 state...
Read MoreCivil Justice Reform - Law Firms The Prospects For Civil Justice Reform - An Overview
Editor: When I think of torts, you and Prosser immediately come to mind. You are one of the most published authorities on civil justice reform. It is always a pleasure to get your insights. First, tell us about your practice. Schwartz: I joined Shook Hardy & Bacon a few years ago. I could...
Read MoreDeveloping A Flexible And Reliable Crisis Management Plan - Part II
Part I of this article appears in the October 2004 issue of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. Conducting The Internal Investigation While each internal investigation will be customized to suit the scope of the crisis and the issues presented, the crisis management plan should provide a process...
Read MoreDeveloping A Flexible And Reliable Crisis Management Plan - Part I
Part II of this article appears in the November 2004 issue of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. A convergence of legal developments resulting from the corporate debacles of the past few years, strongly recommends the development by in-house counsel of a crisis management plan that can rest on...
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