Our June 11th blog post broadly discussed arbitration and the upward trend of including mandatory arbitration clauses in agreements. This week, we analyze the pros and cons of arbitration to elucidate when arbitration clauses are useful and when they are potentially harmful. In arbitration, individuals and entities bring legal claims against one another outside the public court system. Although many aspects of arbitration are similar to a civil court trial, arbitration has a number of key differences. Pros Speed – Arbitration is generally faster than litigation. Whereas litigation often takes years, the arbitration process may only take a few months. However, arbitration can take longer when there are…
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Depositions 101: Eight Tips to Ease Your Mind
The movie “The Social Network” used the depositions of Eduardo Saverin and the Winklevoss twins, who sued Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook, to tell its story. Depositions in real life are also used to hear one party’s side of the story so the attorneys know what to expect at trial. Most people have never had their deposition taken and, like many parts of the legal process, it can be daunting to the uninitiated. Knowing what to expect can alleviate much of that worry. What is a Deposition and Do I Need an Attorney? At their core, depositions are merely a question and answer session between a person that has information…
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Think You Can Represent Yourself in Business Court? Think Again.
While it is legally permissible to represent yourself in Business Court, it probably is not a good idea as one plaintiff learned the hard way. In a recent decision from the North Carolina Business Court, a plaintiff, James Gillespie, attempted to be a pro se litigant and wound up with his case dismissed and responsible for paying much of the defendants’ legal fees. Gillespie originally retained counsel for the purpose of suing the defendants. However, his attorneys, John and James Scarbrough, filed a Consent Motion to Withdraw as counsel. The court granted this motion requiring Gillespie to retain a new attorney within four weeks. He did not make the…
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Playing by the (New) Rules in the North Carolina Business Court: Part 2
The North Carolina Business Court’s new Rules went into effect January 1, 2017 and apply to every civil action designated as a mandatory complex business case or assigned to a Business Court judge, regardless of whether it was filed prior to the Rules’ effective date. They are meant to supplement, rather than supplant, the Rules of Civil Procedure and General Rules of Practice, but if there is a conflict with local rules or standing orders from the county of venue, the Business Court’s Rules will govern. Part 1 of this topic addressed the changes in Notices of Designation, filing, electronic filing technology problems, motions practice, and emergency motions. For…
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Recorded Conversations: What Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Taylor Swift Can Teach Us
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are not law professors, but in their latest public feud with pop-star extraordinaire Taylor Swift, they are providing an interesting example of the legality of recorded conversations as well as their admissibility in civil court. The Feud Putting aside the inception of the feud (“Imma let you finish…”) and the back and forth since then, the most recent chapter began when Kanye West released his song “Famous” earlier this year with lyrics referencing Taylor Swift: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.” West claims that he obtained Swift’s consent for the lyrics during a…
