Law and Motion Deskbook Trilogy

Quick to read and easy to use. No history or long discussion, but lots of practical forms

2014 September

Opposing California Civil Motions

The Rutter Group Civil Litigation Series

www.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com

$187 includes loose-leaf volume and CD-ROM.

Okay, admit it: When you prepare a brief, you want it to be a masterpiece. You want every sentence to be unique. Your secret fantasy is that the judges are shocked by the quality of your work, so much so that they put down all their work, call a conference of research attorneys, even other judges, to share your work of art and eloquent words. The judge holds up your motion or opposition and announces to the group, “This is how a motion (or opposition) should be prepared!”

Time is of the essence

Let me pinch you now and bring you back to reality. The first problem you face is time. You can’t spend hours poring over a law and motion document until your words are perfect. Your client doesn’t want to be charged for all the time that it is required to produce a masterpiece. Your client will not be pleased with your bill or your explanation as to why you had to charge for such perfection. After all, the facts are the facts, and the law is the law, so only so much can be done.

The second problem you face is that the judge lacks time as well. Most judges are overworked and just don’t want to spend the time savoring your words. They have a job to do. And too many cases to process. Yours is just one of many.

I learned that lesson years ago when I worked as a research attorney. I had every intention of reading every single word in a law and motion paper. I had previously written motions, giving the history of statutes, current trends, and other developments. What a waste of time! I learned my lesson. Been there, done that. After all, does anyone need to spend more time on contemplating the theory of liberally construing a pleading or modern trends in reviewing summary judgment motions?

Do not reinvent the wheel

What you need to do in your documents is say it well and say it fast, especially if you are preparing a motion that has been done over and over again. You are not reinventing the wheel. Save that for trial. We all cut and paste. I dare you to deny it. But why rely on borrowing other’s work when you can rely on The Rutter Group’s Civil Litigation Series, which includes California Law and Motion Authorities for Civil Cases and California Law and Motion MODEL FORMS, which have been providing forms and citations for well over 10 years. The book is updated annually, so each year you can obtain a fresh new set of citations. There are thousands of citations to choose from and more motions than you will ever encounter in your practice from the start of a case to its finish.

To complement their earlier volumes, authors David N. Finley and Douglas R. Parker have recently published the final set in their trilogy, Opposing California Civil Motions – Model Opposition Briefs, which deals with opposing the motions contained in the first volume.

Here’s how it works: Let’s say you have reviewed a new complaint and determined it is barred by the statute of limitations. That should be fairly easy. The judge can look at the complaint, and in particular, the charging allegations dealing with dates, and then you look at the law. If the proper law is applied to the facts alleged in the complaint, you win. End of story.

It’s all on disk

You pull out your copy of California Law and Motion Authorities for Civil Cases and California Law and Motion MODEL FORMS and create the forms you need. Notice of hearing? Right there in the book and on disk. Just fill it in with your information. Okay, you’re done with that.

Now you need the demurrer. If you use these books, it should take a few minutes. You have the form on a disk, and you know your grounds for demurrer. Next.

Now you want to build a Memorandum of Points and Authorities. While you will have to personalize the memo with a statement of facts, everything else is on disk. What points do you want to raise? Grounds? Proper timing? The judge’s role in reviewing a demurrer? All there. You point out the applicable statute of limitations and the filing date of the complaint. Now you have tied it into a neat little package, with a bow on top. Could take as much as 15 minutes and six pages.

For every motion, there is an opposition. Opposing parties deserve a little help, and now that help has arrived with their recent book, Opposing California Civil Motions – Model Opposition Briefs. If you are representing the opposing party, you know you have to allege facts to show the statute of limitations is tolled. Your opposition could take a few minutes to assemble as you start out with that policy of liberal construction, note the tolling provisions in the statue or case law (or both), and personalize the opposition to the extent of showing the pleading alleges facts to show a tolling and states a cause of action.

Oops, the facts are not in the pleading? Okay, now you need to ask for the right to amend. Briefly provide some authorities on the right to amend, especially on filing the initial pleading, and argue your ability to state a cause of action. That should take minutes, not hours. When you are finished, use the time you have left over to write the Great American Novel. Or just enjoy some basketball at the beach.

The downside? You want to personalize the papers and that might require very specific legal research on issues not raised in these books. No problem. You can easily add in your own authorities and discussion of the facts. But at least you have a great head start.

The authors know what they are doing. David N. Finley has spent more than 20 years in litigation, legal publishing and legal education. As a litigator, he worked for Spray, Gould & Bowers’s motion and appellate department. He has published numerous legal guides and books in16 jurisdictions. Finley is also the creator and former editor-in-chief of a national voir dire newsletter, The Jury Expert. He is currently working at Chapman University Fowler School of Law, where he is the Director of Communications and an adjunct professor. Douglas R. Parker is an award-winning developer and author of legal titles for The Rutter Group. He also writes and edits numerous articles, essays, historical digests and educational legal guides. He is the co-editor of the seven-volume California Physicians Legal Handbook (California Medical Association, 2008). Parker is a senior litigation paralegal with over 20 years of experience specializing in drafting motions, oppositions and briefs in state and federal courts.

Together they have assembled a large collection of authorities and quotes.

Lori L. Maze, a civil litigation attorney, is also listed as an author on the first two volumes. Maze is a Senior Research attorney at Orange County Superior Court and is currently a Juvenile Court Staff Counsel.

Another plus is that even though this is a quick reference book, you can pick and choose your authorities to reflect your style. You only want very recent authorities? They are there. What about old authorities from 1930? You can find them as well. Personally, I like to sprinkle a few quotes around. Yes the authors have included plenty of quotes. Every document can be different and will have those paragraphs that reflect the facts of the case. The best part is that it should take you less time than a typical lunch break.

The judges will love you. Quick and easy. No history or long discussions. That’s how they prefer it. Unless you want to work hard, bill a fortune, I recommend this trilogy to make your life – and the judge’s – easier.