Articles

Reporting Product Occurrences to Canadian Authorities

By Julia Mercier and Cheryl Woodin
The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act has significant implications extending far beyond Canadian borders.

Food Labeling Remains Ripe for Consumer Fraud Class Actions

By Sarah L. Brew, Kristin R. Eads, and Steven B. Toeniskoetter
Food companies face vast scrutiny of their product labeling and advertising.

Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Siracusano: Its Effect on Causation Evidence in Products Liability Cases

By Scott Elder and Travis Thompson
The Supreme Court’s decision does not fundamentally alter the established framework for weeding out unreliable scientific causation evidence.

New Health Care Law Affects Medical Liabilities and Drives New Plaintiff Options

By James T. O’Reilly and Michele L. Young
The 2010 PPACA deepens the trench that separates injured plaintiffs from access to compensation under traditional medical malpractice law.

How Parent Corporations Can Be Directly Liable for a Subsidiary Product

By Jay P. Mayesh
The law of negligent undertakings offers a potential pathway of direct liability to a parent corporation’s assets.

The Future of Strict Liability Law in Pennsylvania: Is a Change Foreseeable?

By Jodi Dyan Oley and Dennis P. Ziemba
Pennsylvania courts have intensified their analyses of the framework used to evaluate strict product liability claims.

Discovery Practice in Conflict with China’s State Secrets Law

By Josh Johanningmeier and Patricia Wheeler
China’s draconian state secrets law stands in the way of obtaining what would likely be seen as routine information in civil discovery.

A Global Outlook: FDA’s Shifting Strategies to Address the Safety of Imported Goods

By Una Young Kang
Products regulated by the FDA are currently imported from more 300,000 foreign facilities.

Defending Mass Retailer Liability for Foreign-Sourced Goods

By Michelle Cheek
When products liability suits arise from poor quality control, domestic companies can find themselves in a precarious position when it comes to determining who will bear the loss.

Getting the Discovery You Need When It Is on the Other Side of the World

By Megan Jury and Sara Athen
There are no easy solutions for domestic litigants needing to acquire documents from a non-party in a foreign country.

Tips for Examining Life Care Planners and Economists

By Hope Thai Cannon
In catastrophic personal injury cases, plaintiffs rely on the expert testimony of life care planners and economists to support their claim for damages.

The CPSIA’s Expanded Reporting Obligations and Revised Recall Provisions

By Josh Johanningmeier and Bryan Cahill
Since the CPSIA was signed into law, companies have focused on compliance efforts as they face deadlines for the new standards, bans, and testing requirements.

Are the Effects of Carcinogens at Trace Levels Overstated?

By Forrest A. Hainline and Jennifer Yu Sacro
The California Attorney General filed suit against several manufacturers of french fries and potato chips, seeking warnings that the products contain acrylamide.

The Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 | 

By Una Young Kang
Congressional committees are considering a bill that would amend the FDCA with respect to liability under state and local requirements respecting medical devices.

Getting the Best Value from Trial Consultants and Jury Research | 

By Jo Ellen Livingston, Ph.D.
Why should you hire a person who is not a lawyer to help try your case? If you are a successful lawyer, what does pretrial research bring to the table?

“Should I Google the Jury?” and Other Ethical Considerations

By Sarah Grider Cronan and Neal F. Bailen
There continue to be substantial gray areas as to appropriate behavior between lawyers and jurors within the confines of the courtroom.

Supreme Court Sets “Procedural” Limit on Punitive Damages

By David Broughel
Philip Morris USA v. Williams sets constitutional boundaries on what conduct a jury may punish in a particular punitive damages award.

Removal Based on Fraudulent Joinder of a Sales Representative

By James C. Barton Jr.
It's common for the plaintiff’s counsel to join local sales representatives as defendants to destroy diversity jurisdiction in an action between the plaintiff and the manufacturer.

Limiting Exposure in Clinical Trials

By Justine G. Cuccia
Maximum care in clinical trials can be a matter of life and death—not only for the test subject, but also for the drug or device being tested.

“Off-Label” Is “In”

By Daniel S. Wittenberg and Brendan M. Ford
The newest weapons in America’s ongoing battle of the bulge are just the latest chapter in the ongoing debate over off-label use.

CAFA: For Whom the (Removal) Burden Tolls

By Alan E. Rothman and Steven Glickstein
As plaintiffs and defendants fight over the turf on which class actions are litigated, they will attempt to shift the burden of establishing the application of CAFA to removed actions.

Young Lawyers

10 Tips for an Effective Mediation

By Sheldon L. Haden
As more courts are ordering parties to mediate, more cases are settling and more young lawyers are never seeing the inside of a courtroom.

Working With Experts 101: The Do's and Don'ts Every Young Lawyer Should Know | 

By Peter W. Burg, John A. Connor, and Tracie J. Renfroe
This article compiles advice for working with experts as presented during the Young Lawyers' Breakout Session at the 2009 Joint CLE Seminar.

30 (b)(6) Depositions: Who Gets the Short Straw When No One Knows the Answer? | 

By William S. Ohlemeyer
The rules seem simple—sue a corporation, serve a notice, make them produce someone who can answer your questions. How else can you extract oral testimony from a legal fiction?

Improper Venue vs. Change of Venue – What’s the Difference?

By Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez
Research recently came through for me on an often-confused procedural issue—the defense of improper venue versus moving for a change of venue based on convenience.

Ten Commandments for Effective Rainmaking

By Timothy A. Pratt
Lawyers are an insecure breed, and we worry about two things: Am I a good lawyer? Will I be able to get enough clients to be successful?

How to Second Chair a Trial

By Charles L. Woody
There are numerous practical “to-do” items necessary to organize your case prior to trial.

How to Be an Effective National Counsel

By Maria H. Ruiz
You might be called upon to assist senior attorneys at your firm to fulfill the national counsel role for large clients.

How to Deal With Difficult Opposing Counsel

By Charles L. Woody and Kevin L. Carr
You can use federal or state rules, the ethics arsenal, and your rapport and reputation with the judge to rebuke a member of the bar who is acting out wrongfully.

Ten Tips for Preparing Witnesses for Deposition

By Eric Hudson
Good preparation can affect your witness’ performance during a deposition, and a good deposition translates into an overall better case.

How to be An Effective and Efficient Local Counsel

By Michele G. Johnson
Acting as local counsel for a particular client may seem like an easy job, but your role as local counsel does not stop there.

Can Witnesses Be Excluded From Depositions Of Other Witnesses?

By Justin P. Lemaire
If you determine that exclusion is warranted, move for exclusion under Rule 26(c)(5), bearing in mind that courts hold it should be invoked sparingly.