Civil Procedure 2

7 September 2011

• He's a UW alum (25 years ago). Formerly of Foley & Lardner, now at DeWitt, Ross, & Stevens.
• When is a lawsuit completely done (res judicata or claim preclusion)? What about issue preclusion ("collateral estoppel").
• Joinder is adding of paries or claims, by the way.
• West Federal Judicial Procedure and rules is overkill for this class, but very good. We need the rules and also 28 USC. Also, we'll need the WI rules of Civ Pro: just use the things from Legislative Reference Bureau.
• Class participation:
  • On call system for cases and exercises:
    • Facts
    • Procedural posture
    • Make assigned party's argument or the court's decision
    • Be prepared to deal with the questions/problems in the book (this is not just for on-call people)
    • Also do a 1-page outline; this will be handed in; grade of 0-5.
  • Written practice exercises:
    1. Discovery requests (case in supplemental materials): interrogatories and document requests. Figure out enough about the other side to know what to ask for. This will be a personal jurisdiction issue.
    2. Letter to client about a proposed business transaction.
    3. Notice of removal and related documents. Moving a case from state court to federal. Drawing up the notice of removal and the other stuff (incl. check for filing fee).
    4. Complaint in state court, using joinder to prevent removal.
  • Oral communication exercises:
    • Client interview with president of International Shoe. 2 ppl. I am the lawyer; Tanya is the president
    • Mock deposition of Staywell. 3 ppl.
    • Eerie argument and decision. 3 ppl.
    • Litigation strategy problem. 4 ppl.
    • Litigation strategy problem #2. 4 ppl.
• Generally we will move pretty fast; there might be a cancellation here or there; we'll make up by staying long on other days.
• There may be a review session, but it may not be needed; we'll decide later.
• Final exam 12/14. 4 hours.
• Two additional assignments:
  1. Outline comparing the WI rules and the Federal Rules. 3 columns: Federal, State, differences.
  2. Time computation exercises: calculating deadlines in cases. How to count days, when is service effective, etc.
• There will be sample exam questions: waiver/no waiver (X happened-- did you waive the right to file a counterclaim?) ; yes/no questions; short answer questions (give an example of interpleader); mid-length essay quesions (a few ¶), with one a bit longer.
• Final is 90 points; that's about 60% of grade. There will be an oral grade on a 10-point scale. Each written assignment is also on a 10-point scale. The 2 study guides are on a 5-point scale.
• How to read a rule:
  • What's the purpose of the rule?
  • What's the scope of the rule? What does it cover?
  • Addressee: who commands whom?
  • Command: what do you have to do?
  • Exceptions: what are they?
  • Consequences: what if you don't do it?
  • Precision: how easy is it to apply?
• Know the provenance of the cases you cite: is the court a prominent one for this? Is the court overturning what your opponent is requesting (that's the most persuasive; second is an appeals court upholding what you want to see happen)?
• How to do research on procedure:
  1. Read the rules. Read the index to the rules, too.
  2. Go to a seconday treatise (Wright-Miller-Cooper; "Wright & Miller; Moore's Federal Practice).
  3. Then use a computer.