FALL 2019 TODAY’S GENER AL COUNSEL
BOOK REVIEW
Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts
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riting this review of the Fourth Edition of Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Robert L. Haig Editor-in-Chief, was a formidable challenge because there is so much to review. The 14 volumes (three more than the Third Edition) contain 25 new chapters. It is a comprehensive guide to a wide range of topics that confront both generalists and specialists in litigation. Also, while it may not be the primary purpose, any inside counsel who has engaged lawyers to handle complex commercial cases would benefit greatly by immersion in the subject areas they are confronting, either as plaintiffs or defendants. Each chapter has a principal author or authors. Reviewing the list is equivalent to reviewing the lineup for an all-star game if you are a baseball fan, or the principal musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra (I have my biases). These notable judges and lawyers have written fully annotated chapters on virtually every subject that comes into play in a commercial case, beginning with jurisdiction and venue and ending with e-commerce and information technology. All the chapters are full of substantive law but there are also practice tips aplenty, along with an explanation of what is required from practitioners by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. As one example, Chapter 7 in the first volume entitled “The Complaint,” contains more than 100 pages that not only cover the basics of how to draft a complex commercial complaint but also provides strategic considerations and pleading essentials. If the shoe is on the other foot, Chapter 8 provides insights into ways
a surprise for a treatise with this one’s title. It is written by a very experienced federal judge. Although not commercial litigation as such, it is especially important since a very high percentage of the overall case load in federal courts involves cases that have been joined together in MDLs covering a wide variety of products, but especially pharmaceuticals. The father of mass torts is the decision by the United States Supreme Court 42 years ago in Bates v. Arizona, 433 U.S. 350. That 5 – 4 decision, written by Justice Blackmun, held that the First Amendment allows lawyers to advertise their services in a manner that is not misleading to members of the general public. Now, lawyers
Robert C. Heim, a partner at Dechert LLP, is a trial lawyer who focuses his practice on antitrust, securities, product liability and complex commercial litigation. He is a past Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, past President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and an elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. robert.heim@dechert.com
to attack a complaint in addition to understanding the bases for denials. Since earlier reviews of this encyclopedic approach to important topics of interest to every commercial litigator cover a wide range of territory, I will emphasize new additions starting with Chapter 110 of Volume 11, Mass Torts,