stanleycheiken

In business litigation cases, the parties are often required to produce documents that contain confidential and sensitive information. For instance, financial data and strategic planning information may be relevant to the claims or defenses asserted in a case. Does...

Parties to contracts will frequently insert a provision designating an exclusive venue for the trial of any disputes. But why? Litigating venue can be expensive and time consuming. Where the parties agree upon a venue in their contract, they may be able to avoid a...

Mediation is a common mechanism for litigants to use to resolve their cases. Mediations can be Court sponsored or private. Regardless, there are several keys to a successful mediation. First, it is important to mediate at an opportune time. This varies on a case by...

There are potential benefits and drawback to arbitrating business disputes. Here are a few thoughts to ponder. There is no one right answer. I have colleagues who believe that arbitration is always best; and colleagues who refuse to ever arbitrate. They are both...

Tortious interference with existing contractual relations is the intentional and improper interference between two contracting parties. This is a tort claim that entitles a party whose contract with a third party has been terminated because of the wrongful...

The rights of business owners may vary drastically based upon the nature of the business entity itself. Business entities can take various forms - corporation, partnership or limited liability company being the most common. There are subsets of each of these forms,...

I've reached the age where the focus of my practice is much less about earning a fee and much more about making connections. The good news is that the latter generally leads to the former anyway. I don't mean the kind of connections that help you get a dinner...

The Rules of Professional Conduct establish the ethical obligations of attorneys - to clients, adversaries, the court and the public at large. Rule of Professional Conduct 2.1 expressly provides that lawyers are "advisors" to their clients. The Comments to this Rule...

One of the aspects of litigation that I find most rewarding has to do with how a dispute becomes a lawsuit. Very rarely does a client approach me and tell me exactly what it needs. In fact, I am skeptical when a potential new client approaches me in that way. What...

This week it was announced that the Federal Trade Commission is exploring the possibility of implementing a rule that would prevent the enforcement of non-competes against former employees. I believe this is going to happen. I also believe that many states will enact...