a California-centric collection of comments and resources about complex litigation and class action practice
I have an undesirably congested schedule this week. As a result, there will probably be fewer posts of great length this week, and the posts that do go up may not go up as regularly as usual. Though it might be getting old for me to say this, thanks for visiting.
Given that I have appreciated the writing and analysis on Cal Biz Lit, I note with gratitude the fact that The Complex Litigator has passed muster as a blog that meets with Bruce Nye's approval. You can also take a look at Bruce Nye's firm, Adams Nye Trapani Becht LLP at adamsnye.com. Thank you, Bruce.
ClassActionBlawg.com has just posted a round-up of class action blawg articles from the last week or so. This week's round-up includes one article by The Complex Litigator, so a special thanks for that. ClassActionBlawg.com includes these useful round-ups once a week, but the most recent collection of posts is particularly thorough; it makes for a great launching point to look around the blawgosphere for topical posts on class actions.
It took about 30 days to reach the 1,500 visit mark. The next 1,500 visits took about 15 days. I attribute much of the daily visit growth to the support of a number of very successful blogs, including Wage Law, UCL Practitioner, The California Blog of Appeal, ClassActionBlawg.com, and California Punitive Damages. Other sites, like Overlawyered.com, also directed quite a bit of traffic here to read specific posts. Justia.com pushed a fair bit of traffic here as well. Thanks to everyone, and if I didn't list your blog as a source of referrrals, it isn't because I don't appreciate it, it is because I'm out of time to post right now.
Thank you for your support and consideration,
H. Scott Leviant, on behalf of The Complex Litigator
Due to a configuration error, a number of highly commendable blogs were not appearing on The Complex Litigator's "Blogs of Note" blogroll, despite having been entered on the administrator's site. That has been corrected. The Complex Litigator invites all readers to explore what these "Blogs of Note" have to offer, as some of the early entries were pushed off the list for the past several weeks.
LexBlog, a company that helps build and maintain law blogs, conducted a survey of blogging activity by Am Law 200 firms. As reported via a Law.com article, as of mid-March, 53 Am Law 200 firms were blogging in some manner, either through a blog the firm itself sponsored or a blog run on the side by one of its lawyers. (Alan Cohen, Cutting a Winning Edge in Law Firm Blogs (May 2, 2008) www.law.com.) The blogging activities of Am Law 200 firms is relatively new: "A little more than a third of those firms started blogging in the last six months alone, according to LexBlog." (Ibid.) Most Am Law 200 firms offer very targeted blogs, focusing on a specific area of law.
Large firms examining the bloggin issue return to the same questions:
While the big firms wrestle with these issues, the biggest returns on the blogging investment are being realized by small firms. (Gina Pasarella, Am Law Firms Giving Blogs The Stamp Of Approval (April 17, 2008) www.law.com.) "Blogs can be more effective than almost any other marketing tool in showing a clear return on investment, according to one legal marketer." (Ibid.)
Blogging in the legal industry is rapidly evolving, and I'm willing to confront the risks that have about three quarters of the Am Law 200 sitting on the sidelines. The last 5 weeks since this blog launched have been exciting, educational, nerve-wracking, and tiring. But it has been worth it so far. And just in case you didn't read my disclaimer, I'm not offering you any legal advice on this blog, and we don't have an attorney-client relationship just because you found and read this blog. Oh, and my blogging is unrelated to my employment or my employer. Just so we're clear on those details.
In December 2007, Robert Ambrogi published a two-part article on his blog, Robert Ambrogi's Lawsites, that collected and reviewed e-discovery sites on the internet. (See Part 1 and Part 2.) After the publication of that two-part article on Lawsites, two prominent e-discovery sites received substantial updates (one receiving a complete domain name change and makeover) that deserve follow-up coverage. The first, DiscoveryResources.org, sets the standard as an e-discovery information repository. According to Robert Ambrogi:
DiscoveryResources.org "may be the leading e-discovery portal" and that its Sound Evidence blog, written by e-discovery expert Mary Mack, is "one of the best known e-discovery blogs."
On May 1, 2008, the site relaunched with a number of updates and improvements. Updates include: new navigation for tracking e-discovery best practices and case law; new "From the Experts" articles on current e-discovery issues and trends; RSS feeds for tracking the latest news and information; updated links to industry resources and judicial opinions; a newly designed monthly newsletter; and, links to industry blogs and other e-discovery community resources.
Another popular resource, Information Governance Engagement Area, has been discontinued in favor of a new site. The author, Rob Robinson, who has worked with several e-discovery companies, just launched Complex Discovery, which he describes as a source for "information, tools and tactics relevant to the growing discovery market." The site is organized around e-discovery stages, including collection, processing, review and production, and has a number of helpful resources. In addition to articles, news items, guidelines and the like, Robinson highlights several of the site's innovative features:
Scribd - iPaper Document Library: A growing online repository of interesting and applicable papers relevant to the field of electronic discovery.
Yahoo! Pipes EDD Mashup (RSS): An aggregation of key electronic discovery RSS feeds that serves to provide continuous updates on topics related to electronic discovery.
Twitter - ComplexDiscovery Updates: A Twitter feed that highlights the daily posting on the specific ComplexDiscovery RSS feed.
Mogulus - Video Learning on EDD: A video channel designed to share publicly available video presentations relating to electronic discovery.
Mofuse - Website Mobile Version: A mobile version of the ComplexDiscovery website designed specifically for mobile devices to include cell/iPhones.
(Robinson, InfoGovernance To ComplexDiscovery = More Robust And Objective eDiscovery Content (April 11, 2008) http://infogovernance.blogspot.com/.)
These sites are excellent springboards to e-Discovery resources online.
e-DISCOVERY posts will become a regular feature of The Complex Litigator. Look for more on this rapidly changing subject soon.
[Via Robert Ambrogi's LawSites] Aside: Lawsites is a great way to learn about the evolving online legal community.
In a blog post roundup for April 29, 2008, Overlawyered noted an earlier post from The Complex Litigator, entitled "Coupon-only settlements are hard to sell." (Olson, "April 29 roundup" (April 29, 2008) www.overlawyered.com.) As I make mention of Overlawyered's link to this site, I find myself contemplating whether to include Overlawyered on my list of read-worthy blogs. Do I succumb to self interest and avoid promoting a site that is essentially dedicated to cataloging the excesses and failures of the legal system? Do I commend Overlawyered and work to effectuate positive change from within, by self-selecting laudable cases?
No doubt that the legal profession makes itself an easy target. But for every one of Overlawyered's posts confirming the death of self-restraint and common sense, there is a story of justice dispensed wisely, after diligent effort by courageous attorneys and clients. To Overlawyered's credit, that blog never suggests that all litigation is bad. Rather, it offers, as its mission statement, the following:
Overlawyered.com explores an American legal system that too often turns litigation into a weapon against guilty and innocent alike, erodes individual responsibility, rewards sharp practice, enriches its participants at the public's expense, and resists even modest efforts at reform and accountability.
I suppose that I have answered my own question about the merits of including Overlawyered in the dialog here. I am interested in using The Complex Litigator to explore all manner of subjects touching on class action and complex litigation. Some topics, like technology issues, concern the implementation of efficiencies to make a litigator's life easier. Others, such as the recent discussion about coupon settlements in class actions spans topics of class action settlment mechanics and ethics in the law. The Complex Litigator is intended to become a community that, by its nature, includes diverse viewpoints and ideas. All appropriately expressed thoughts are welcome.
In earlier posts on this blog, I challenged some specific criticisms levied at the class action procedural device. (See, "'Class' missing in Daily Journal column on class actions" and "Daily Journal Forum column challenges recent anti-class action campaign".) The blog Disgusted Beyond Belief offers its own critique of several of the most common complaints about the class action device:
[O]ne has to wonder about those who call class actions with settlements frivolous. It is true that sometimes it is cheaper and easier to settle to make a complainant go away than it is to go to trial and win, but the aggregate costs of most class actions are so high that one would think it would always be much cheaper to go to trial if the suit is so weak as to be frivolous. In other words, it is not very likely that a class action suit where there has been a settlement was frivolous - just the opposite, in fact.
("Class Action Lawsuits" (April 21, 2008) disgustedbeyondbelief.blogspot.com.)
It is true that lawyers typically get anywhere between 30 and 40% of a suit that is done on contingency. But keep in mind that there is also the chance that they will lose and then get nothing. What it means is that the lawyer or law firm assumes the risk of the lawsuit.
(Ibid.) The rest of the post is a good read, as Disgusted Beyond Belief is not ashamed to express outrage (in an entertaining manner). I must admit that I did chuckle at the notion of a "right-wing stranglehold on the [mainstream medias]." I guess many things in life are subjective.
[Via The UCL Practitioner]
In my experience, class action and other complex cases depend more heavily upon written submissions to the court. I spend more time writing joint status conference statements, supplemental briefs after hearings, oppositions to demurrers to eighth amended complaints, and so on, and so forth. I don't necessarily mind the emphasis on writing - I like writing. But I am ever more keenly aware that as the briefing and other written submissions rise in importance, the quality of the written message must also rise. There isn't enough time in the day to make every brief the ideal brief. We simply endeavor to make each brief better than what is required to accomplish the goal of the brief.
In my own efforts to improve my writing, I am always interested in sound advice and constructive criticism. I recently found the blog of Wayne Schiess, a legal writing instructor at the University of Texas. Surprisingly named Wayne Schiess's legal-writing blog, Mr. Schiess provides interesting advice about writing, advice with which I find myself often in agreement. The blog doesn't link to each post on its primary page, so Mr. Schiess's blog is more suited to occasional browsing.
[Thanks to The California Blog of Appeal for suggesting the site.]
The Complex Litigator reports on developments in related areas of class action and complex litigation. It is a resource for legal professionals to use as a tool for examining different viewpoints related to changing legal precedent. H. Scott Leviant is the editor-in-chief and primary author of The Complex Litigator.
