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The Unofficial Rules of Evidence
In most law schools, “Evidence” is a required course. After completing it, every student can outline the basic requirements of admissibility; namely, the proffered material must be: relevant, fair and accurate, not violate public policy, and meet basic foundational requirements. Years later when actually trying a case, many of these former law students are shocked to learn that there is another variable affecting admissibility ' a variable never discussed in any Evidence text that I have ever seen. Specifically, a judge's willingness to let a lawyer use a particular piece of evidence is sometimes affected by the technology the lawyer chooses to display material in court.
In order to examine this assertion, we need to start by creating what I call the “technology continuum.” As shown in the illustration below, this continuum very roughly ranks the various methods of displaying trial material in increasing relative order of sophistication or technology. At the bottom of this continuum are “spontaneously” produced graphics (such as drawings on newsprint paper or on blackboards); moving up, there are commercially pre-prepared exhibit boards; up a bit more are exhibits displayed electronically; higher still are models and two-dimensional animations; finally, at the top are three-dimensional animations or whatever else is state-of-the-art at the time you read this article.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.