In a landmark decision, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a rule banning all non-compete agreements for all employees, with some limited exceptions. This rule seeks to foster fair competition and enhance worker mobility by prohibiting employers from...
As a young litigator, I was taught that there are certain rules of cross-examination not to violate: (1) ask only leading questions; (2) refrain from asking “one question too many,” (3) stick to one fact per question; and (4) never ask the “why” question. Although as...
It is the bane of any legal department’s existence – the third-party subpoena. Frustration is often the first emotion for the recipient because responding to such a subpoena can be time consuming, expensive, and is an unplanned event outside the budget. Third-party...
By: Matthew Lite, Esq. Experts often provide the most impactful and influential testimony a jury hears at trial. Unfortunately, even though many experts possess advanced college degrees and other impressive credentials, and testify with an air of confidence, that...
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law S.B. 447, which was sponsored by the Consumer Attorneys of California (an organization of 3,000 plaintiffs lawyers), and overturns the longstanding legislation to allow for pain and suffering damages to be...
Brendan Gaughan was interviewed for an article published in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly entitled "Surveillance video takes center stage in premises liability." The article examines the proliferation of video surveillance in commercial settings, the impact of this...
S.B. 447, which has been sponsored by the Consumer Attorneys of California (an organization of 3,000 plaintiffs' lawyers), seeks to overturn longstanding legislation to allow for pain and suffering damages to be compensated in a survival action. Under California law,...
In 2009, jury consultant David Ball and plaintiff’s attorney Don C. Keenan published a book, Reptile: The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff’s Revolution (“Reptile Manual”). The concept of the “Reptile Theory” is based upon the reptilian or primal portion of the human...
Last month, I wrote about a Massachusetts personal injury case in which the Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments that addressed an issue concerning improper “reptile based” comments made by plaintiff’s counsel during closing argument. Before jury deliberations...
The Boy Scouts of America (“BSA”) recently filed a Chapter 11 voluntary petition for bankruptcy amid an onslaught of claims against the organization related to historical acts of sexual abuse in its programs. According to a Debtor’s Informational Brief filed on its...