The Rutter Group's Guide for Federal Civil Procedure: Updated, Still the Best
Experienced litigators know that federal civil lawsuits are all about procedure. Taking the wrong tack before trial can sink your ship before it even leaves the shore. Even if your client has the most compelling claim for compensation, a jury may never hear it if you don't get the discovery, removal and remand, and motions and pleadings right. If you're seeking a federal appeal, you need to know what judges and circuits are looking for in terms of issues to review.
It's clear that federal litigators need to stay on top of the latest pretrial practice strategies. So where do you go for this inside info?
New Law, New Guide
It was quite a busy year of developments in federal pretrial civil procedure: the Supreme Court issued decisions on a wide range of issues from arbitration and standing to sue, to class actions and lawsuits against foreign states. You could hunt around for all those cases and index them yourself, or you could rely on The Rutter Group to do it for you.
Litigators have long trusted The Rutter Group's Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial as the authoritative guide on pretrial procedural practice in federal courts. (Disclosure: The Rutter Group is part of Thomson Reuters, FindLaw's parent company.) With updates to federal preemption, jurisdictional requirements, and pleading standards, the federal practice guide is more essential than ever. (You may also want to find out if a firm is liable for sanctions for running up court costs under 28 U.S. Code § 1927.) Not only can the practice guide give you all of that info, it can now do it from a new perspective.
New Guide, New Authors
The Rutter Group brought in two new co-authors for the 2017 National Edition, both highly accomplished female judges. First is Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Central District of California since 2013, who previously served on the Los Angeles Superior Court and as a Justice Pro Tem for the California Court of Appeal. Before that, Judge O'Connell was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
The second author is Judge Karen L. Stevenson, appointed a U.S Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California in 2015, with prior litigation practice experience at a large Los Angeles law firm. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Stevenson specialized in complex commercial matters and was selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer Rising Star three times. Both women bring a fresh and dynamic take to what was an already stellar practice guide.
The Rutter Group's guide is already an essential resource for federal practitioners. With the new update by current justices, the best-selling guide is now even more valuable. To improve your federal pretrial procedure game, you can pick up The Rutter Group's new Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, National Edition here.
Related Resources:
- How to Hone Your Persuasion Techniques and Tactics (FindLaw's California Case Law)
- Posner Scolds Lawyers for Verbosity, 250 Pages of Briefing (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Judges Want Your Briefs to Be Shorter -- Much Shorter (FindLaw's Strategist)