Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Fifth Edition

edited by robert l. haig reviewed by BrookSie Bonvillain Boutet

Where to begin? If you are anything like me, you probably ask yourself this very question when tackling a new topic. Through my litigation practice, I have often found that a treatise or scholarly article can be an excellent starting point for breaking into unfamiliar territory. For those venturing into the multifaceted, oftentimes complex world of business and commercial litigation in federal courts—or for those who merely need a refresher—editor Robert L. Haig’s aptly-named Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Fifth Edition, is just that sort of resource.

Across its first 86 chapters, the treatise primarily begins with the fundamentals— from federal court jurisdiction to procedural concerns at all stages of a case. This section also contains strategic content on crisis management, social media discovery, and budgeting. Impressively, the treatise then tackles 93 separate subjects—neatly organized into individual chapters—all of which fall under the broad umbrella of business and commercial litigation. Helpfully for litigants, procedural considerations appear throughout these chapters. And in addition to updating the law from the fourth edition, the fifth edition contains 26 new chapters, each of which is outlined in the Foreword.1 Of particular interest to us Houstonians, perhaps, is the new chapter on space law.

Although a print version of the hearty 16-volume treatise is available, I myself chose to peruse it as an eBook. I highly recommend the electronic format for ease of navigation and searchability.

As a more granular example of the treatise’s substantive coverage, the chapter on admiralty and maritime law includes sections on maritime jurisdiction, maritime actions, transportation of goods and services, and maritime transactions, all written in refreshingly plain language. It also concludes with useful practice aids—a feature of most of the treatise’s 180 chapters. In addition to many sample pleadings, the chapter includes multiple checklists to guide the reader through procedural and substantive considerations for various types of admiralty and maritime actions, whether as plaintiff or defendant. As a subscriber to an admiralty and maritime law treatise, I must say that this chapter succinctly covers many issues that I have encountered when handling these types of cases, and the footnotes are filled with case law and secondary sources for those interested in a deeper dive.

If you are not yet convinced of the need for this treatise, notably for HBA members, the 373 principal authors of the Fifth Edition include Judge George C. Hanks Jr. and Judge David Hittner, both of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, as well as Houston lawyers Thomas R. Ajamie, Charles L. Babcock, Barry Barnett, David J. Beck, Van H. Beckwith, Layne E. Kruse, Mary-Olga Lovett, Rod Phelan, Harry M. Reasoner, and Melanie B. Rother.

Montgomery LLP. She is currently editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer.

Endnotes

1. Emergency The new chapters cover animal law; art law; artificial intelligence; budgeting and controlling costs; climate change; congressional investigations; constitutional litigation; coordinating counsel; corporate litigation reporting obligations; oorporate sustainability and ESG; fee arrangements; fraudulent transfer; litigation management by judges; monitorships; political law; shareholder activism; space law; third-party litigation funding; trade associations; use of jury consultants; valuation of a business; and virtual currencies. Four additional chapters offer a comparison between business and commercial litigation in federal courts and their counterparts in Canada, Delaware, Mexico, and New York.

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