Federal Court litigation is a marathon, not a sprint. As any marathon runner knows, you can't run the race if you haven't prepared. Fortunately for attorneys, preparing a case for trial doesn't require any actual running, though it can sure feel like a workout sometimes.
When prepping a case for trial, or just filing, even experienced federal court litigators need to have their recollections refreshed on proper civil procedure. While younger, inexperienced lawyers might choose to start with a web search, experienced practitioners will turn to the federal practice guide that has become an industry standard at any law firm worth its weight in billables: The Rutter Group's Practice Guide: Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, National Edition.
If This Guide Could Talk, Your Client Would Hire It
Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial is the premier, authoritative procedural guide on federal pretrial practice. (Disclosure: The Rutter Group is part of Thomson Reuters, FindLaw's parent company.) The annually updated, well organized, and functionally indexed guide allows practitioners to quickly and easily find current information on the topic they are looking for, without having to scroll through screen after screen of unrelated search results. If there's a circuit split on your issue, this is the guide that will make sure you know about it.
Beyond just being an easy to navigate resource, the pages are chock-full of practice pointers, practical tips, and even motion-tested forms, on nearly every pre-trial topic. From jurisdiction to pre-trial motions, it's basically a reference attorney in book form, but without the condescending attitude or exorbitant monthly invoices.
New Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, National Edition Available Now
Whether you're prosecuting or defending, you know that an entire case can be lost due to a procedural error. This is the resource to make sure that those errors happen to your opposing counsel, and not you. Small firms get the benefit of the countless years of experience from the authors that have helped to craft the guide. Mid- to large-sized firms can cut down on time spent reviewing and redoing junior associate work, and can help partners and senior members who don't want to admit they don't know something.
The 2017 annual update, co-authored by two current Federal Court justices, Judges Beverly Reid O'Connell and Karen L. Stevenson, is filled with fresh insights gained from behind the bench and years of experience practicing in the federal courts. With current justices reviewing and updating this practice guide, it is plain to see why The Rutter Group's Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, is not only one of the best-selling practice guides, it is the industry's leading practice guide and a must have for every federal practitioner's library.
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