In January 2024, I was a competitor in the International Baseball Arbitration Competition. This competition was held at Tulane University.  In the banquet that followed the competition, which was held at the New Orleans Arts Warehouse District Hotel in an art gallery, I had the opportunity to meet Major Leage Baseball (MLB) Player Agents, MLB Team/Club Representatives and members of the MLB Players Association (MLBPA).  I was compelled to ask these professionals working at MLB one question: “Is there a place for Statcast-generated sabermetrics[1] in salary arbitration hearings?”  ..read more

Trials do not always live up to the dramatic portrayals seen on television, and not all jurors are enthusiastic about their courtroom duties. On the other hand, serving as a juror could offer the unique opportunity to unwind and take a break from the usual work routine. No matter the excuse, jurors are constantly nodding off and falling asleep during trial proceedings. In such instances, it raises the question of what judges and counsel are expected to do to address inattentive jurors.    Criminal defendants are entitled to a fair and impartial jury under the Sixth and 14th Amen ..read more

On November 18, 2023, Derek Romberg, Marc Bisogno, Steven Donofrio, and I (Colin Savino) competed on behalf of Haub Law Advocacy in the ABA Arbitration Competition regionals. We were coached by Kristen Mogavero. We thank her for all her time working with us to prepare for the competition and encouragement throughout the competition day!  In the regional competition, each team competes against one opponent as the claimant and against another as the respondent. Of the teams who win against both respective opponents, the four who receive the highest score differentials from the judges advanc ..read more

With my previous successes, one would think I had overcome my fear of not being “good enough.”- that feeling of being an imposter. I should feel confident in being named the captain of  Haub Law’s team in the Wechsler First Amendment Moot Court Competition- right? But it was totally the opposite. That creeping feeling of not being good enough returned. In my early days as captain, I found it daunting to try to take on a leadership position. Questions like, “ Am I really a leader type? What if I made a move that was detrimental to the health of the team?” swarmed into my mind and continued ..read more

The rise of the internet has led to a rise in the introduction of web-based evidence in court. It is something that attorneys find themselves having to deal with on a more frequent basis. Whether it be posts from social media, published web articles, or web page archives, attorneys have had to adapt and learn to deal with such evidence for the betterment of their clients. However, the introduction of web-based evidence has led to a variety of evidentiary issues. The ever-changing nature of the internet and published web pages raises issues of authenticity and the preservation of data amongst o ..read more

On May 23rd, 2023, I landed in Reykjavík, Iceland to participate in a two week advocacy program. I stepped off of the plane into a country of blustering winds and freezing temperatures. Little did I know how much this country and the people I met there, would change my life.  The month of May in Iceland has seventeen (17) hours of daylight. After twenty-four (24) hours of getting settled into a normal sleeping cycle, classes commenced. Professor Charles H. Rose III gave an intense lecture about the value of storytelling in a trial. I knew the minute Professor Charlie Rose began to speak ..read more

Sometimes situations will arise where, at a criminal trial, the defendant wants to admit the grand jury testimony of a witness.  Since grand jury hearings are ex parte proceedings, grand jury testimony will almost never be admissible on behalf of the government due to Confrontation Clause concerns.  See Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004).  An exception to this general rule is when the witness also testifies at trial and the testimony is admitted as a prior statement under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1).  Usually, however, it is a defendant who will try to admit ..read more

My family has a strong presence in the law: my dad is a New York State Supreme Court Justice sitting in White Plains, New York, and my aunt is a solo real-estate practitioner based out of Armonk, New York. The question when I was growing up was always whether I would follow in their footsteps or attempt to pursue my own career. Through chance, fate, and a global pandemic, I ended up here at Pace and spent  a majority of my time working with the Advocacy program. I always knew I wanted to go to law school because as the old saying goes, “you can do anything with a law degree.” I definitely ..read more

The use of expert witnesses in litigation has become so prevalent it is now routine. Often cases require the use of an expert to prove a prima facie case. For instance, without the use of a medical expert in a civil personal injury action, a plaintiff cannot prove past or future medical damages. Other cases may not require the use of an expert, but it is still prudent to retain one. For example, in a criminal matter, a defendant may want to retain an expert who can testify to the unreliability of eyewitness identification. However, occasionally, after having painstakingly considered the approp ..read more

If you were to ask someone what things are certain in life, you would probably get the classic answer: “death and taxes.” For those in the legal field, there is one more certainty to add to that list: legal research. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone in this field who can say they have never done legal research, and for good reason. Being able to do this kind of research is an essential skill for any advocate, in any practice area, which is why law students are faced with multiple assignments requiring extensive research before they can even think about walking away with a J.D. in 3-to ..read more