Category: Litigation

Coronavirus has forced lawyers to try out new remoting practices. This week, our Ventura County Superior Court closed to general civil litigation for a week. The first three days were treated as court holidays, so any deadlines just got extended three days. Expect to see some very finely written briefs and pleadings in the pipeline. Also...

Attorney Kathi Smith's article, "Prevailing Party Attorney's Fees" was recently published in Attorney at Law Magazine! Prevailing Party Attorney’s Fees By Kathleen J. Smith

When the parties’ contract provides that the prevailing party shall recover reasonable attorney’s fees in any dispute arising out of the contract, fees sought must be unreasonable in relation to the...

By Kathi Smith

When the parties’ contract provides that the prevailing party shall recover reasonable attorney’s fees in any dispute arising out of the contract, fees sought must be reasonable in relation to the services performed. If the opponent’s case was over-lawyered, if  fees are block-billed, if clerical tasks are included in the billings,...

By: Kathleen Smith, Esq. When the volleys of accusations and defenses have played out in litigation, parties usually agree to settle their lawsuit. Typically, litigants are free to negotiate a mutually agreeable—and mutually disagreeable—settlement without involving the court other than to file a Request for Dismissal. But in a PAGA case, the parties must...

By Kathleen J. Smith

Arbitration is Alternative Dispute Resolution, “ADR”. It is similar to Mediation, except Arbitration results in an award imposed by a neutral decider, whereas Mediation results in an agreed-to settlement often designed by the neutral but thoroughly adopted by the disputing parties. Both ADR methods...

By Kathi J. Smith, Esq.

If circumstances have required you to get involved in litigation, you may find the process of selecting an attorney to be overwhelming. There are, however, some steps you can take to make the selection process a bit easier.

First, you should consider hiring someone...