Will Newman (wnewman_at_beckerglynn

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Will Newman is a commercial litigation attorney at Fleischman Bonner & Rocco LLP. He represents clients in disputes involving contracts, employment issues, and products liability matters. He also regularly provides strategic advice to companies in advance of disputes, both to avoid the burdens of litigation and to protect their legal claims and defenses if litigation is inevitable. He is also a contributing editor of the American Bar Association publication, Litigation News, and the author of the commercial litigation blog, Unpredictable.

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United StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted 5 days ago

Part of my work involves reading court decisions to keep abreast of how judges decide the types of cases I handle. In a recent blog post, I share some thoughts on recent litigation decisions, including one decision about which I wrote an article for the ABA Litigation Section magazine Litigation News.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/november-2021

Comments on Recent Cases: November 2021 — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

It can be difficult for a plaintiff to prove that her employer discriminated against her. Most employers do not expressly say, “I am being racist” or “I am firing you because of your sex.” But plai...

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United StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted 13 days ago

At the start of many lawsuits, the parties need to reveal facts about themselves and the case. Among other reasons, they do this to enable the other parties to focus their discovery efforts and to allow everyone to identify possible conflicts of interest.

I wrote a blog post about initial disclosures, possibly one of the most fascinating parts of litigation only because anything is possible: https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/initial-disclosures

Initial Disclosures — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

Counsel often make initial disclosures at the start of the case when they are the least familiar with the facts. After spending months studying the documents and interviewing witnesses, they common...

Liked by MEGHAN WARREN

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United StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted 20 days ago

Although litigants may disagree on many facts in a case, there are often many other facts that are not in dispute. For example, parties may agree that they were in a certain place at a certain time, but disagree about what took place. To reduce the amount of evidence that parties need to show at trial, and to focus the proceedings just on the matters at issue, courts often permit or require parties to agree through a stipulation that various facts are true.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/stipulated-facts

Stipulated Facts — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

Because both sides need to agree on the stipulation, they are often drafted in a neutral, non-argumentative way. So instead of stating “The defendant wrongfully trespassed on the innocent plaintiff...

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NigeriaUnited StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted 27 days ago

Nigeria is home to Africa’s largest economy and population. To serve them, its legal system draws on diverse traditions. Most other countries do not have courts that apply British common law and Islamic shariah law.

To learn more, I asked Chinedum Umeche, a litigator at the law firm Banwo & Ighodalo in Lagos to share information about his firm’s litigation practice.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/nigeria

Litigation in Nigeria — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

In Nigeria, parties are required to file along with their pleadings, a list of witnesses they intend to call, together with their statements on oath as well as copies of all documents they intend t...

Liked by MEGHAN WARREN

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United StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted last month

Lawyers cannot represent any client that wants to retain them. Among other reasons, lawyers have a duty to their clients to avoid conflicts of interest. One way that lawyers can enforce this duty is by asking the court to disqualify another lawyer from representing her client in litigation.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/conflicts

Motions to Disqualify Counsel — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

In some cases, the lawyer herself may be involved in the facts of the case and so have the need to testify as a fact witness. In those cases, she may be prohibited from serving as trial counsel thr...

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United StatesCorporateDisputes / litigation

Posted 2 months ago

Fact witnesses at trial can only testify about facts they know from their own personal knowledge. But sometimes, a party needs to introduce evidence about general practices and customs in an industry, or about some fact that requires an opinion from an expert. To address that need, courts often allow experts to testify in litigation about the subject of their expertise.

One step in the process of introducing expert testimony is preparing reports by the expert that set forth the substance of their testimony. These reports often require a lot of work, both from the expert and from counsel.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/expert-reports

Expert Reports — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

A professional expert may seem less credible to a judge or jury; after all, their career depends upon providing favorable testimony to whoever pays them. But a professional expert may also be more ...

Liked by MEGHAN WARREN

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DenmarkDisputes / litigation

Posted 2 months ago

Although I am a lawyer in the United States, I studied law for a semester at the University of Copenhagen. It was an incredible experience that allowed me to see different approaches to legal and societal questions. I also learned to bring my own bags to the grocery store and then bicycle home. And I learned what it was like to confuse people who spoke perfect English, but did not understand my patois of sarcasm and Simpsons references.

I am unable to send my blog’s dozen readers to Denmark, but I still want to share details about litigation in Denmark. So I spoke with Christian Dysted, a litigator at DAHL Law Firm in Copenhagen, to share his perspective on litigation there.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/denmark

Litigation in Denmark — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

The Danish courts have been overwhelmed with cases the last few years. There is currently a focus on expediting cases concerning violence, weapons and sexual abuse. Thus, the civil cases are schedu...

Liked by MEGHAN WARREN and 1 other

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United StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted 2 months ago

Every week, I post some thoughts about a recent court decision on LinkedIn. It's an almost fun activity that helps me stay current on litigation trends that otherwise do not get a lot of public attention. And every month, I collect those posts and put them on my blog with a public domain or Creative Commons image of something that happened that month. It's a wild ride.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/september-2021

Comments on Recent Cases: September 2021 — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

A fraud case often requires an explicit false statement and the plaintiff’s justifiable reliance on the statement. A case based on the failure to disclose the truth, instead of an outright lie, is ...

Liked by Reinier Russell

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United StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted 2 months ago

Some people wait a long time before approaching a lawyer with a potential case. When something terrible happens, a long, expensive, exhausting litigation may not be a priority. But when people do come to a lawyer, no matter how valid their claim may be, it may not succeed if they waited too long. This is because statutes of limitation cause claims to expire.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/limitations

Statutes of Limitation — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

Some people wait a long time before approaching a lawyer with a potential case. When something terrible happens, a long, expensive, exhausting process may not be a person’t priority. But when peopl...

Liked by MEGHAN WARREN and 1 other

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United StatesDisputes / litigation

Posted 2 months ago

Most litigation does not proceed to trial. Instead, for cases that proceed through discovery, a judge may decide that there is no need to hear witness testimony because the facts, even when cast in the light most favorable to one side, require judgment in favor of the other. A party in the United States may ask a judge to make this decision by moving for summary judgment.

https://www.unpredictableblog.com/blog/summaryjudgment

Summary Judgment — Unpredictable

unpredictableblog.com

Many court rules require a party who moves for summary judgment to submit a statement of undisputed facts. An example is Local Rule 56.1 in the Northern District of Illinois. This statement is usua...

Liked by MEGHAN WARREN and 1 other

Will Newman
Litigator at Becker, Glynn, Muffly, Chassin & Hosinski LLP

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Do you have questions for Will Newman?

Will Newman Litigator at Becker, Glynn, Muffly, Chassin & Hosinski LLP

Messenger Groups

Do you have questions for Will Newman?

Will Newman
Litigator at Becker, Glynn, Muffly, Chassin & Hosinski LLP