The Dutch– an exceedingly practical and direct people– have a saying: Goedkoop is Duurkoop. Cheap is expensive. We of the anglophone persuasion have a variation on that theme: you get what you pay for.
But the Dutch version captures reality far more forcefully. Cheap is expensive is an apt way of articulating the constant
A huge hat tip to my friend and fellow law blogger, Ted Folkman, for his Case of the Day post last week about Peanuts Worldwide v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A (N.D. Ill. 1:23-cv-02965).* He very deftly connected the dots
Over the years, I’ve posted in this space a couple of diatribes about the wisdom– or really, lack thereof– in a strict DIY (do-it-yourself) mentality in the practice of law. See here and here if you’re interested. Yes, I have a pecuniary interest, but I contend that a DIY approach to the Hague Service Convention
[Update, December, 2025… the 2d Circuit agrees, as covered by my friend and fellow transnational legal tour guide, Ted Folkman. To be sure, the conflict only arises in what I call “5-O countries”, but even where Article 10(a) postal channels are available, e-service is still a bad idea in most cases. ]
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No, really. This is what we do here. Hague Service. All the time.
Continue Reading Hey, defense counsel, we know what we’re doing.
I don’t have an FAQ page on this blog, but if I did, the very first question out of the gate would be “How do I cut that translation cost down from $50,000 to a more manageable figure?”
It really is a shock to a litigator’s system– especially that of a patent litigator– when they’re told that the documents they have to serve in Germany or China or Mexico will cost them five (or six!) figures to translate. Those countries’ declarations to Article 5(3) of the Hague Service Convention require translation. Period. And most other countries require it too, with no exception or variance as to what gets translated and what doesn’t. It means everything.
Continue Reading The time to save money on translation is *before* filing.
Last week, Peggy and I returned home from Nashville, where we attended our second in-person Clio Cloud Conference (#ClioCon), the tenth overall and eighth live legal tech nerd prom hosted by Vancouver’s favorite super-cool CRM software provider.*
Continue Reading Why I write the way I do.
Author’s Note: This is far from a scholarly criticism– it is a nuts & bolts look at how this thing should go down. Preface:
Frankly, I think electronic service is the only way to get these scofflaws served.
Continue Reading Don’t know where your defendant is? You still have to *look* for them.
