[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
You’re suing in your hometown. Jurisdiction is clear. You have everything you need to get the ball rolling. There’s just one thing about it that differentiates it from the rest: the defendant is overseas. And that difference could mean a massive increase in the cost to litigate. A good chunk
[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
Simple practice tip: if your defendant is located in Hong Kong, be sure to refer to the jurisdiction as Hong Kong, China or, alternatively, Hong Kong S.A.R. (shorthand for “Special Administrative Region”). Any request which refers to Hong Kong in isolation
That’s Kevlar® on that kid’s head. Technically, it’s called “a kevlar” (like your grandpa’s WW2 helmet was called “a steel”), but it’s made of Kevlar® (capital “K”) a little miracle fiber dreamed up by the gang at DuPont Chemical. It has saved thousands of lives in its five decades on the planet.
[Update: The Water Splash decision alleviated most of the confusion in May, 2017. The circuit split was resolved– decisively and correctly, in my view, but mail service still has to be valid under lex fori to be valid
[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
Immigration attorneys seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status for their clients must seek an order of guardianship in state court before an Immigration Court will confer SIJ classification. In order to establish that guardianship, they (or co-counsel who practices family law) must put the child’s biological parent(s) on notice of
[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
My newsfeed has been jam-packed with Brexit stories since England & Wales voted to quit the European Union (for the record, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to remain—and this will have additional effects on the state of the UK). On the morning of the result, I gave a CLE
[Author’s note: Whether in state or federal court, the plaintiff absolutely must be cognizant of e-service’s conflict with Article 5 of the Hague Service Convention, even contrary to some very bad, no good, horrible case law. That said, new developments in the summer of 2024 make it compatible with Article 10(a).]
A debate
We regularly encounter lawyers who cringe at the thought that the biggest expense involved in service of process abroad is often translation. Their misconception is either that language is no big deal, or that translators are a dime a dozen. Neither is true, but sticker shock can still be… well, shocking. So how do
This is the Secret (okay, technically “Special”) Sauce recipe for the vaunted Big Mac. Really, the formula is not so secret, but replicating the sauce is not for the faint of heart. And as much as Mom tried to copy it at home to save a few cents, it just couldn’t compare to the Golden
[Originally published at vikinglaw.us]
A little over a year ago, Ted Folkman posted in his fantastic column, Letters Blogatory, about a mistaken ruling in Kim v. Lakeside Adult Family Home (Wash. App. 2015). When I read the opinion, I concluded that Ted’s description of a “mistake” was far too diplomatic. The court’s opinion
