Looking Forward

This is the time of year when you wonder how you survived the holidays and think about the coming years activities.  My first January job is to decide what I will write for this year’s supplement to Slip and Fall Practice.  When I was first approached  by James Publishing in 1986 to write a book on slip and fall accident litigation, there were not many published guidelines in the field so outlining a book on the subject was relatively easy.  Now, 22 supplements and 2 major revisions later, I thought it would be harder to find new or fresh material.

My normal routine is to go through the book and update the case law and expand the technical portions to reflect the changes in science and technology.  This year I decided that Part II, Litigation, should be revised; the trial section, Chapter 15, is the shortest chapter in the book but one of the most important.  It reads much the same as it did in the original 1988 edition.  There have been many changes in both rules of court and in the methods of presentation.  The 2010 supplement will bring this chapter up to date.  Not all of the changes and material is from new sources, however.  The revised chapter will present some time honored rules of trial advocacy honed and polished to fit today’s requirements.

There have been some significant changes in the approach to third party litigation in workman’s compensation cases and governmental liability actions. Case preparation is changing and new guidelines are needed to timely meet the statute demands for disclosure.

Some of my recent cases have involved the issue of whether an accident in a medical care facility is premises liability based or medical malpractice; products liability or negligence on OTC medication; duty based on control of property or contract between lessees and owners; and changes in codes and statutes.

I have a couple of speaking engagements on tap, plus a lecture or two later this summer coupled with a trip to the United Kingdom.  Among the dozen or so cases set for trial, 3 are unique and fascinating; I can tell you about them after the results are in.

One thing on the top of my list is to resume my 3-4 mile daily walks with Cody (picture above).  This winter we both have added a few pounds and need the exercise.

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