2008 Articles

Affirmative defenses in federal court: What every practitioner should know By Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr. & Patricia M. Fallon June 2008 Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) governs the assertion of affirmative defenses in civil cases filed in federal court and is defined:

Avoiding e-discovery pitfalls: Guidelines for practitioners By Patricia M. Fallon December 2008 The move from paper to electronic discovery has resulted in an enormous increase in volume of discoverable material as well as a wealth of new problems for practitioners.

Enforcing settlement agreements in federal court: A cautionary note and advice By William L. Niro September 2008 More often than not, litigation ends with a settlement agreement between the adverse parties.

Handling settlement conferences with pro se litigants represented by appointed-counsel under the Settlement Assistance Program and why you should care By Devlin J. Schoop September 2008 On November 6, 2006, by a General Order of the Court, James F. Holderman, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, implemented a court-wide program authorizing both district and magistrate judges to appoint counsel to pro se litigants on a limited basis in settlement conferences.

Letter from the Chair By Patrick T. Driscoll September 2008 The Federal Civil Practice Section Council had a very successful year in 2007-2008. The Section Council presented two CLE programs which were well attended and favorably received.

New Federal Rule of Evidence 502 By William L. Niro December 2008 Federal Rule of Evidence (“FRE”) 502 will take effect December 1, 2008 and is intended to reduce the rising and expensive costs associated with document and electronically stored information (“ESI”) review by protecting against work-product immunity and waiver of the attorney-client privilege.

New proposed amendments to Rules 26 and 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure By William J. Brinkmann December 2008 A preliminary draft of proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure has been submitted for public comment by the Administrative Office of the US Courts. Comments are due by Feb. 17, 2009.

Primer on copyright law By Peter LaSorsa March 2008 Sophisticated digital equipment like handheld scanners, cellular telephones with built in cameras, and the easy accessibility of protected works via the Internet, are making the task of copying another’s work relatively easy, cheap and unsophisticated.

RULE 56.1: Requirements and pitfalls By Mary Nagel & Kathryn A. Kelly March 2008 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 governs motions for summary judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.

Should the FDA’s approval of medical devices preempt state court products liability suits? By John J. Holevas June 2008 Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, commonly known as the Supremacy Clause, establishes the Constitution, federal statutes, and U.S. Treaties as “the Supreme Law of the Land.”