Federal Discovery: A Survey of Local Rules and Practices in View of Proposed Changes to the Federal Rules

Traditionally, except for the limited role played by pleadings and bills of particulars, the attorney in a law court did not disclose evidentiary matters until trial. A judicial proceeding was a battle of wits rather than a search for the truth, \u27 and thus, each side was protected to a large extent against disclosure of his case until counsel chose to disclose it at trial. This philosophy changed some forty years ago with the introduction of discovery in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In the words of Mr. Justice Murphy, the discovery rules meant that civil trials in the federal courts no longer need be carried on in the dark. The way is now clear, consistent with recognized privileges, for the parties to obtain the fullest possible knowledge of the issues and facts before trial. Or, as another observer saw it, [m]odern instruments of discovery. . . together with pretrial procedures make a trial less a game of blind man\u27s bluff and more a fair contest with the basic issues and facts disclosed to the fullest practicable extent

Giving Up the Ghost: Alaska Bar Ethics Opinion 93-1 and Undisclosed Attorney Assistance Revisited

Twenty years ago, the Alaska Bar Association adopted Ethics Opinion No. 93-1 which permitted attorneys to ghostwrite pleadings and provide other undisclosed services to pro se litigants. The goal of this ethical guidance was to enable attorneys to assist low-income individuals who could not otherwise afford representation. Ethics Opinion No. 93-1 construed ghostwriting broadly as an attorney\u27s undisclosed assistance to a pro se client whether by providing legal advice or drafting pleadings or other documents. This Note argues that, despite the moral allure of its theoretical justifications, ghostwriting is unnecessary, provides little demonstrable benefit to pro se litigants, and potentially conceals the unethical practice of law. Ghostwriting may also confuse the interactions between judges and pro se litigants in a way that works against the pro se party\u27s interests. Specifically, this Note argues that ghostwriting may cause judges to misapprehend pro se litigants\u27 legal understanding and to withdraw prematurely the solicitude those judges are otherwise required to give. Therefore, the Alaska Bar Association should revise its guidance on ghostwriting to require attorneys providing unbundled services to append their Alaska Bar Number on their submissions. This requirement would discourage abuses, enable judges effectively to manage pro se litigants, and still permit experimentation in the unbundled legal market

Taming Twombly: An Update After Matrixx

Stockholm is today one of the fastest growing regions in Europe and the demand for housing is increasing by the day. In order to achieve the target of becoming Europe's most attractive metropolitan region the city needs highly educated and skilled labour to satisfy the demand of companies today and in the future. However, the housing situation for students in the Stockholm area is at the moment very bleak. Stockholm is at least 7,000 student housings short and the quetime reaches as high as two years. Despite the lack of housing for students, we can’t see any increase in construction. This means that the students have a difficult time finding somewhere to live which results in that they choose to study elsewhere. In 2009 Boverket said that we must examine alternative solutions for resolving shortage of housing for students. In recent years a couple of projects can be seen in which existing buildings have converted its use from office or shops to student housing. An investigation of how the market views this option has been lacking. This essay aims to examine the student housing market in Stockholm in order to investigate whether conversion of existing buildings is an effective supplement when construction of new housing can’t meet the demand. We have furthermore examined a couple of restraining factors, in order to make the process more effective and finished of by drawing a couple of conclusions. The current planning process is considered to be one of the most restraining factors that leads to the fact that conversion can’t be utilized to its full extent. Lead times are said to be long and the fact that the plan is to detailed and precise makes it difficult to convert properties. With the help of more administrators and a more open plan, conversion could be used to its full extent. Building regulations are considered to be another reason why so few projects are being converted. The same rules apply when you build new buildings as when you convert. The market is looking for a change in the presentation of the current rules in order for these to be more applicable and beneficial for the market. Unpredicted expenses are always a risk when converting but with more experience the risk becomes lower. A system where you subsidize a part is not a market request since a lot of the answers suggest that this affects a market negatively in the long run. Rent control is not a factor that is considered to be restraining when converting buildings for student housing.Stockholm är idag en av de snabbast växande regionerna i Europa och efterfrågan på bostäder i staden blir allt större för varje dag. För att uppnå de mål som finns om att bli Europas mest attraktiva storstadsregion behövs kompetent arbetskraft till staden för att fylla det behov som företagen efterfrågar nu och i framtiden. Den bostadssituation som råder för studenterna i Stockholmsområdet är dock väldigt dyster. Det saknas i dagsläget minst 7000 studentbostäder och kötiden för en studentbostad uppgår i dagsläget till minst två år. Trots detta ser vi inte någon större ökning av nyproducerade studentbostäder. När studenterna har svårt att hitta bostäder tenderar dessa att studera på annan ort och kunskap förloras, vilket hämmar Stockholms utveckling. Boverket kom 2009 med åsikten att man måste utreda alternativa lösningar för att lösa bostadsbristen för studenter. På senare år har man kunnat se projekt där befintliga fastigheter konverterats och ändrat användning från lokaler till studentbostäder. En utredning kring hur marknaden ser på detta alternativ har saknats. Denna rapport syftar till att studera studentbostadsmarknaden i Stockholm för att undersöka om konvertering av befintliga fastigheter är ett slagkraftigt komplement när nyproduktionen inte når upp till de mål som eftersöks. Genom att uppmärksamma ett antal återhållande faktorer har vi kunnat komma fram till ett antal slutsatser. Dagens system för planprocessen anses vara en faktor som gör att detta komplement inte kan utnyttjas till sin fulla grad. Ledtiderna uppges vara för långa och detaljplanens precisa och detaljerade utformning försvårar möjligheten att konvertera fastigheter. Med hjälp av fler handläggare och en mer öppen plan skulle detta komplement kunna tillämpas till sin fulla grad. Byggregler som tillämpas anses vara en annan anledning till att färre projekt genomförs. Samma byggregler som tillämpas för nyproduktion eftersträvas även vid konvertering. Marknaden söker en ändring av utformningen på dagens regler för att dessa ska vara mer tillämpbara och nyttiga för marknaden. Oförutsedda kostnader är en risk som alltid kommer vara ett orosmoln vid konverteringsprojekt men desto mer erfarenhet aktörerna har desto mindre blir risken. Subventionssystem är inte något som eftersträvas då resultatet pekar på att bidrag och investeringsstöd påverkar en marknad negativt i det långa loppet. Att hyresreglering för bostäder existerar anses inte vara en återhållande faktor för att detta komplement ska bli slagkraftig

When Should a Case Be Dismissed? The Economics of Pleading and Summary Judgment Standards

This paper applies a simple economic framework to the choice between pleading and summary judgment as points at which a claim can be dismissed. It concludes generally that pleading standards should vary with the evidentiary demands of the associated legal standards and the social costs of litigation. The common law's imposition of higher pleading standards for fraud claims is consistent with this proposition. The theory implies that the rigorous summary judgment standards that have been developed by antitrust courts should lead to a correspondingly rigorous assessment at the pleading stage.

Order and disorder in Europe: Parliamentary agents and Royalist thugs 1649-1650

After the execution of Charles I in 1649 a series of daring and desperate attempts were made on the lives of agents and ambassadors dispatched to continental Europe by the fledgling republic. This essay explores the evidence relating to these plots, and to the murders of Isaac Dorislaus and Anthony Ascham, in an attempt to show that the royalists responsible were not merely desperadoes seeking revenge for the murder of their king, but the employees and emissaries of prominent exiled courtiers. The complicity of Montrose, Cottington and Hyde in such conspiracy can be both documented and explained, in the context of the struggle for diplomatic recognition and financial assistance in the months of shock, outrage and uncertainty after the regicide. The concerns of diplomacy and high politics which lay behind these plots also helped to determine the reaction of European leaders, as it gradually became clear on whose side fortune smiled in Britain