This episode is a tutorial about the defendant's answer to a plaintiff's complaint. I discuss the obligation to admit or deny the allegations of the plaintiff's complaint. And I discuss affirmative defenses. I also briefly mention counterclaims, cross-claims, and third party claims even though those topics are the subject of a separate episode ..read more

This episode is a tutorial about the practical application of a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. I focus on the three types of circumstances when courts grant 12(b)(6) motions and offer strategies about how to analyze and argue these motions in practice or on an exam ..read more

This episode is an overview lecture about procedural due process. We cover the five elements of due process claims under the 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, paying particular attention to the 5th element, which requires us to apply the Mathews 3-part test ..read more

This is a tutorial lecture about--and an introduction to--alternative dispute resolution (ADR). I discuss arbitration and mediation, and pose a couple larger questions about ADR.  ..read more

This episode is about the 12(b)(2) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The episode gives an overview of the following jurisdictional bases: Congressional Statutes (S), Federal Rule 4(k)(1)(B) and 4(k)(2) (R), Personal Service (S), Waiver (W), Status (S), Consent/Forum Selection Clauses (C), General Jurisdiction (G), and Specific Jurisdiction (S ..read more

In this episode, I interview Adam Sopko. Adam Sopko is (or was then) a third-year law student and the editor-in-chief of the Northwestern Law Review. In this episode Adam offers advice about adjusting to law school. We then discuss at some length the topic of snap removal and his law review article about the subject. Snap removal refers to the forum defendant rule of 1441(b)(2). Because that statute prevents removal only by forum defendants who have been properly "joined and served," some defendants remove otherwise-unremovable cases by filing the notice of removal before the forum defendant h ..read more

This episode is a tutorial lecture about the joinder of claims and parties under Rules 18 and 20, respectively ..read more

This is a tutorial lecture that introduces discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Fist, I give an overview of five of the most important discovery devices, namely depositions, interrogatories, document requests, physical and mental examinations, and requests for admission. Second, I briefly describe mandatory initial disclosure obligations. Next, I discuss the three components that define the scope of discovery: relevance, privilege, and proportionality. And finally I discuss motions for protective orders, motions to compel, and sanctions--all in the context of how litigators ha ..read more

This episode is my interview with Alexander Ross, Jr., the lawyer who represented Robert Nicastro in J. McIntyre Machiner Ltd. v. Nicastro. The interview took place on October 14, 2020. Because we recorded our conversation with Zoom, the quality of the audio is satisfactory, but not ideal ..read more

This episode is a tutorial that puts the doctrine of personal jurisdiction into some broader context. I offer a little bit of history and offer some big-picture framing that might help you with your mastery of this subject. Notice that there is a separate episode that focuses on applying the doctrine to a given set of facts--that episode is called 12(b)(6) in Practice.  The episodes do not really overlap, except to the extent that they both address one of the most important topics in a Civil Procedure course ..read more