Business Law Journal

The first quarter of 2019 is behind us and, as is tradition year after year for many of us, the time is ripe for a little Spring cleaning. 

In the legal drafting context, this is a good time for in-house counsel and other company professionals responsible for legal documentation to revisit old contract templates and forms routinely used in your business to ensure the relevant clauses are updated to reflect current law and best practices (or, better yet, to consult your outside counsel to conduct the review for you!).

One of the core lessons for defense counsel is understanding that procedural dynamics of cases have substantive strategic consequences.  One of the most complex is the decision of plaintiff’s counsel to dismiss a case.  For instance, without more, voluntary dismissal may result in a claim for costs and fees by the defense under the California Code of Civil Procedure.  Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1032.  The situations where a short-sighted dismissal can harm a client are many.  Similar consequences can occur when errors are made in choices between state and federal forums.  That is the subject of this article.