As frequent readers of this blog are no doubt aware, the ten-volume practice treatise entitled Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts and edited by distinguished commercial practitioner Robert L. Haig (the “Haig Treatise”) – now in its 5th edition – is an invaluable guide for litigators navigating the inner workings of
Courtroom Technology
Have Commercial Dispute, Will Travel (to New York)
A few years back, in a post entitled What the Commercial Division Has Done for Us Lately, we commented on a 2019 report from the Commercial Division Advisory Council, which extolled “The Benefits of the Commercial Division to the State of New York” since its inception in 1995, including how it “has made the…
Apropos of the Recent Omicron Outbreak, Remote Depositions Are Here to Stay in New ComDiv Rule 37
Much ink has been spilled over the last couple of years, including here at New York Commercial Division Practice, on the topic of practicing law remotely in the COVID (and likely post-COVID) era. As we all brace for the coming wave of Omicron, which may well be the fastest spreading virus in human history,…
Necessity Is the Mother of Innovation: The Option of Virtual Evidentiary Hearings and Non-Jury Trials Goes from Provisional to Permanent
As we all are acutely aware, during the last 21+ months, the normally slow-to-change practice of law has been thrust into overdrive, forcing lawyers and courts to quickly pivot from a largely in-person practice to virtual.
New York courts in particular have done an incredible job expanding access to litigants online by, among other things,…
Administering Justice Remotely in the Westchester County Commercial Division
A quick timeout this week from some of our more substantive content here at NY ComDiv Practice to report on some upcoming events and happenings in and around the Commercial Division, particularly in Westchester County…
This past Monday, during her weekly message concerning the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the court system (…
Amended ComDiv Rule 6: The Practice of Law at Your Fingertips (literally)
The New York Commercial Division continues to be a beacon of innovation with a recent amendment to ComDiv Rule 6, now requiring bookmarking and hyperlinking within briefs and affidavits filed with the court. The amendment is no doubt welcome news to an overburdened (and underbudgeted) court system already well-known for its efficient administration of…
ComDiv Rule 1 Amended: Request to Appear Remotely, Avoid Infection, and Save Your Clients a Buck
To be sure, much has been reported on here at New York Commercial Division Practice concerning Commercial Division innovation — including in the areas of courtroom technology and, more recently, in adapting to the “new norm” of virtual practice in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we observed a few months back, the…
Bidding Adieu to Another Manhattan Commercial Division Justice
The Manhattan Commercial Division lost a gem of a jurist last month when Governor Cuomo appointed Justice Saliann Scarpulla to a seat on the bench of the Appellate Division, First Department. Good for her, to be sure. But many of us ComDiv practitioners will be sorry to see her go.
Justice Scarpulla, after all,…
The Virtual Practice of Law Is Becoming More Real Than Virtual
At this point, after nearly three months of practicing law virtually from home, I think it’s fair to say that what was once novel and experimental has become a kind of new norm for the future.
Sure, state courts in New York, including the Commercial Division, have been returning slowly-but-surely to in-person operations over the…
Upgrading to Commercial Division 2.0 (Part III): ICT Comes to Queens County
*** Attention all Queens County commercial litigators: If you have a case before Judge Grays, be sure to bring an HDMI cable and a USB drive with you to court from now on! ***
One of the themes that we’ve developed on this blog over the years has been the implementation of technology in the…