Modern constitutional jurisprudence is frustrating. There is so much attention paid to precedent, and so relatively little to the text of the Constitution. In law school I was very much struck by this experience. I did what I could in the classroom and on exams to resist this current. In these hearings on Neil Gorsuch’s […]

As America’s “foreign intelligence service”, the CIA has historically been given a relatively free and unrestrained hand to operate. This latitude exists because the CIA’s outward-looking mission benefits from a degree of secrecy, and because express and implied legal barriers exist that prohibit the CIA from operating in the domestic and law enforcement spheres.  Maintaining […]

You are litigating a case and need to produce records or obtain deposition testimony from an out-of-state witness.  Easy peasy, right? Not so fast. If your case is being litigated in federal court, then yes Rule 45 amendments make the process fairly simple. However, if you are litigating in a state court, getting a subpoena […]

Most people are familiar with the general operation of courts of law in civil cases.  A plaintiff sues a defendant for an injury or breach and seeks monetary damages.  The court then applies rules of black letter statutory and common law to the facts, and delivers a result.  This is the realm of the court […]

What is an apostille? Simply put, an apostille is a method of authenticating documents, defined by treaty, for use in nations that are signatories to that 1961 Hague Convention treaty. Apostilles are therefore a means of international document authentication, and are increasingly important in a world that continues to become more and more connected through […]

Fundamentally, the requirements for serving process on a business entity derive from the same constitutional obligations that attach to serving legal process on an individual.  Before there can be deprivation of life, liberty, or property, a defendant must receive notice and be given an opportunity to be heard in a court of law.  This obligation, […]

You’ve got a defendant in the United States military you need served with process.  Easy, right?  Not necessarily.  If the defendant happens to live in the U.S. and outside the confines of a military installation, then indeed the jurisdictional and service of process nuances involved are generally similar to what you encounter with civilian defendants. […]

Mobile applications are revolutionizing the way many Americans work, and attorneys and other legal professionals are no exception.  Even as I write this, I am discovering new and interesting apps that heretofore had escaped my notice.  I hope you find this reference helpful. Before I jump headfirst into my top twenty list, a few words […]

To understand the importance of security interests, it is first important to understand the legal process involved when a lender does not have a security interest (i.e., is unsecured) in relation to the borrower. If a lender makes an unsecured loan and the debtor defaults, the lender must sue in court and obtain a judgment. […]

You have decided to sue somebody. It may be a breach of contract dispute, a divorce, an action against a debtor, a suit for child custody, or a claim for negligence or some personal injury. Perhaps you have tried to resolve the dispute out of court by negotiating with the other party or by going […]