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Reuben A. Guttman, District of Columbia Fellow, Co-Publishes “Pretrial Advocacy”

District of Columbia Fellow Reuben A. Guttman has co-authored a new book, “Pretrial Advocacy,” to be released by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (Now available here). The volume, which was also written by Rutgers Professor J.C. Lore, discusses the “unwritten rules” of pre-trial preparation and grapples with the challenges of efficiently developing cases that can stand up to jury scrutiny in the face of overflowing demand, even though 90% of civil cases never make it to trial.

If anybody is qualified to talk about effective legal advocacy, its Reuben Guttman. The Guttman, Buschner & Brooks founding partner has spent his 36-year career releasing staggering sums of money from the grasps of oil refineries, pharmaceutical organizations, and prisons who have run afoul of laws such as the False Claims Act and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Mr. Guttman, who started his legal career as counsel for the Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, is a whistleblower’s best friend—in 2015, he helped Florida’s Lynn Szymoniak gain an $18 million settlement after she uncovered a fraudulent foreclosure scheme that threatened to undermine her own housing and that of thousands of other homeowners.

In addition to being a legal superstar, Mr. Guttman is a familiar figure in the academy and the press. When he isn’t giving his time to Emory University School of Law as an adjunct professor, journal advisor, or board member, he’s writing for or being quoted in more than 30 journals and media outlets as varied as The New York Times and Peking University Public Interest Law Journal. Mr. Guttman’s international influence stretches from the U.S. federal government, where he has testified before Congress and advised President Clinton’s transition team, to as far away as China, where he has offered his thoughts on Chinese labor laws at the Dutch Embassy and lectured at universities in Shanghai and Beijing.

Source: American Bar Foundation.
Book Available here.

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Book: Non-state Actors in China and Global Environmental Governance

This book is the first effort to develop a broad and deep perspective on the emerging space occupied by “non-state actors” in China in the context of global environmental governance.  It will serve as a primer both for scholars seeking to understand China’s environmental governance system and for practitioners working with policymakers and administrators within that system. Individual chapters explore what works in achieving social change, domestically as well as globally, and will provide guidance to activists and directors of NGOs as well as scholars.

Authors: Dan Guttman, Yijia Jing and Oran Young.

Dan Guttman, an attorney with GBBLegal, is a lawyer and former public servant who has devoted his career to issues of public policy. Since arriving in China as a Fulbright scholar in 2004, he has taught and developed comparative China/western governance courses and programs at Shanghai Jiao Tong, Peking, Tianjin, Tsinghua, and Fudan Universities and taught at Duke Kunshan University and New York University Shanghai. 

Yijia Jing is a Chang Jiang Scholar, Dean of the Institute for Global Public Policy, and Professor of the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University.

Oran Young is professor emeritus and co-director of the Program on Governance for Sustainable Development at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California Santa Barbara.

Learn more or purchase here.

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Book: New Pretrial Advocacy Book Addresses New Norms in Transformed Field of Litigation

A new book on pretrial advocacy, published this week by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) and Wolters Kluwer, takes on a world of litigation that has been radically transformed in recent years by remote proceedings and other practice norms that often deliver resolution long before litigants face off in the courtroom (available in print and e-book here).

In Pretrial Advocacy, authors Reuben A. Guttman and J.C. Lore address the challenges of litigating in a civil justice system that is overburdened yet essential to implementation of the rule of law. Even as nearly 90% of all civil matters never come before a jury, lawyers must nevertheless prepare cases as though they will. Because modern civil litigation is, the authors say, “front loaded,” lawyers are challenged early on in the pretrial process to consider the rules of evidence and civil procedure as they gather information to plead a plausible complaint.

“The pretrial process is laden with unwritten norms. All parties, from litigants to jurists, struggle to provide efficient resolutions while balancing due process,” said Lore, a Distinguished Clinical professor and Director of Trial Advocacy at Rutgers Law School. “We wanted to write something that explains it all.” The strategies and techniques outlined in Pretrial Advocacy put forward responsive new approaches to teaching advocacy in both law school and continuing legal education settings.

In addition to practical tips and insights from some of the nation’s foremost jurists and practitioners, Pretrial Advocacy features a foreword by retired U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Massachusetts and Harvard Law faculty member Nancy Gertner. “Pretrial Advocacy fills an important space for litigators,” Gertner said. “It teaches how to try cases from the moment  a client contacts the lawyer through the trial, encouraging lawyers to engage in strategic decisions about pretrial discovery and motion practice. Why depose this witness rather than another?  What is the purpose? What are the salient documents—not every single one, not just the few ‘gotcha’ documents, but those that build the narrative.”

Pretrial Advocacy closes with chapter dedicated to public interest litigation. “We thought a chapter on public interest litigation was necessary because there are too many people—from immigrants to victims of race and gender discrimination and whistleblowers—seeking to have their voice heard, and they need competent representation,” said Guttman. Guttman is a founding partner of the Washington, D.C. law firm of Guttman, Buschner & Brooks, PLLC, where he has represented clients in False Claims cases in matters returning more than $6 billion to the United States government.

Guttman and Lore are available to the media to comment on matters in civil litigation and the civil justice system.

Pretrial Advocacy is the ideal textbook for law school clinics, law school  pretrial litigation courses, and practicing lawyers. Both practical and theoretical, it teaches litigation as a process informed by rules and cases, but also by strategic considerations. Its hands-on and accessible text makes it a perfect reference for learning skills and a continuing reference. (Available in print and e-book here.)

Learn more here.

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Podcast: Pretrial Advocacy, with Reuben Guttman and J.C. Lore

Reuben Guttman and J.C. Lore discuss their new book, Pretrial Advocacy, and why modern litigation practices necessitate early, close attention from practitioners. They discuss the interplay of early discovery with the Federal Rules of Evidence and Civil Procedure, how law schools are responding to “front-loaded” litigation that often results in fewer jury trials, why public interest law matters, and what’s exciting about pretrial.

Learn more and listen here.

Pretrial Advocacy is the ideal textbook for law school clinics, law school  pretrial litigation courses, and practicing lawyers. Both practical and theoretical, it teaches litigation as a process informed by rules and cases, but also by strategic considerations. Its hands-on and accessible text makes it a perfect reference for learning skills and a continuing reference. Available in print and e-book here.

Learn more here.

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NITA: Pretrial Advocacy Book

Firm founding partner, Reuben Guttman, has co-authored a text on pretrial advocacy with Rutgers Law School Distinguished Professor, JC Lore. The text is published by Wolters Kluwer and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and is geared to practicing lawyers and law students.

Ninety percent of all civil cases never make it the jury; they are resolved through a pretrial process that is today the unsung forum for dispute resolution. Rather than teaching lawyers to abandon evidence and trial skills, Pretrial Advocacy does the opposite; it teaches lawyers that modern litigation is “front loaded” and cases must be prepared with the assumption that they will be tried. As the authors note, it is the rigor of the pretrial process that drives resolution. From the first client interview through motions practice, you will learn to effectively evaluate cases, draft complaints, conduct informal and formal discovery, prepare and respond to motions, negotiate with opposing counsel, and, if necessary, be ready for trial.

Pretrial Advocacy by Rebuen A. Guttman and J. C. LorePretrial Advocacy is the ideal textbook for law school clinics, law school pretrial litigation courses, and practicing lawyers. Both practical and theoretical, it teaches litigation as a process informed by rules and cases, but also by strategic considerations. Its hands-on and accessible text makes it a perfect reference for learning skills and a continuing reference. (Available in print and e-book here.)

Professors and students will benefit from:

  • Practical guidance for each step of representation, backed up by citations and references for deeper understanding of each topic
  • An accessible writing style that puts the needed information right at the reader’s fingertips
  • Tips to foster the attorney’s relationships with clients, opposing counsel, and the court

Available in print and e-book here.

Authors: Reuben A. Guttman & J. C. Lore