With every litigation both parties have the options of settlement or trial. One factor in deciding whether and on what terms to settle is how seriously the other side appears in its preparation to take the case to trial. A less prepared opposing party presents lower risks at trial and allows a more aggressive approach […]
Archive for the ‘Not South Carolina Specific’ Category
The pitfalls of boilerplate supplemental interrogatories
I’m shocked how often I encounter supplemental interrogatories in family court in which the issuing attorney has clearly given no thought into how interrogatories might be useful in that particular case. The ability to require the opposing party to answer up to fifty (including subparts) unique questions, under oath, and early in the case, without […]
Ambiguity in the rules on requests for admissions
There is a clear ambiguity in the South Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure regarding requests for admissions–SCRCP 36. I suspect that many denied requests to admit exploit (or take advantage of) this ambiguity. Akin to the procedural rule addressing responding to pleadings, the rule regarding responding to requests for admissions states that “when good faith […]
A few big things trump a lot of small things
At the very beginning of any new domestic client relationship the attorney and client need to discuss the client’s goal, discuss the law related to each of these goals, and discuss the evidence that might be marshaled to achieve each goal. For example, if a client has the goal of getting custody of the children, […]
Don’t forget rebuttal
One of the biggest mistakes I see my family court colleagues making is forgoing the opportunity to present rebuttal (sometimes called reply) testimony. Rebuttal is the testimony the Plaintiff presents to rebut the testimony the Defendant presented in his or her case in chief. No attorney who handles family court appeals–and is presented with a […]
Where are the Departments of Love?
Universities have Departments of Economics to study the allocation of scarce resources. They have Departments of Political Science to study power. Where are the Departments of Love? Last night I took my teenage daughter to a preview screening of Long Shot. Checking in on Facebook prior to the show, I noted, “I’m a very open […]
Outline of “Preparing for a Family Court Trial”
In August 2017, I lectured at the Charleston School of Law on “Preparing for a Family Court Trial.” The lecture outline has never been published. Some might consider it a handy trial preparation cheat sheet. Those who do are welcome to download it.
Defending the client’s deposition
An attorney tasked with defending a client’s deposition is doing most of the work prior to the deposition. While I have a frequently asked question on how a deponent should act at his or her deposition, the basic gist is: understand the question before you answer it; don’t lie; answer the question asked (but don’t […]