This handbook provides the detailed guidance needed for handling civil cases in the federal court system and gives practical strategies and advice on aspects of the process that are unique to civil actions in the federal system. Experienced attorneys and judges guide you through each step in the federal civil process, from establishing jurisdiction to preserving issues for appeal, with practical strategies and insider tips. It includes a discussion of the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011, updated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and local rule requirements, the Seventh Circuit’s position on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, and the use of magistrate judges.
Chapter 1 — Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of Federal District Courts
Michael R. Robinson, Administrative Law Judge, Illinois Human Rights Commission, Springfield
Chapter 2 — Jurisdiction of Courts Other than District Courts
Steven H. Jesser, Steven H. Jesser, Attorney at Law, P.C., Glenview
Chapter 3 — Personal Jurisdiction
Jeffrey A. Parness, Northern Illinois University College of Law, DeKalb
Chapter 4 — Parties
Steven D. Hall, Mickes O’Toole, LLC, Saint Louis, MO
Chapter 5 — Venue in Federal Civil Cases
James V. O’Brien, Buchanan, Williams & O’Brien, P.C., Brentwood, MO
Chapter 6 — Pleading Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Richard L. Miller II, Miller PC, Chicago
Chapter 7 — Motion Practice
Richard L. Miller II, Miller PC, Chicago
Chapter 8 — Discovery
Richard L. Miller II, Miller PC, Chicago
Chapter 9 — Pretrial Procedures and Pretrial Conferences
Sean M. Koller, Sperling & Slater, LLC, and Daniel R. Campbell, McDermott Will & Emery, Chicago
Chapter 10 — Practicing Before United States Magistrate Judges
Jeffrey Cole, United States District Court Northern District of Illinois, Chicago
Chapter 11 — Trial of Federal Cases
Daniel R. Campbell, McDermott Will & Emery, and Sean M. Koller, Sperling & Slater, LLC, Chicago
Chapter 12 — Protecting the Record and Perfecting the Appeal
Robert Marc Chemers and David N. Larson, Pretzel & Stouffer, Chartered, and Scott L. Howie, Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC, Chicago
Chapter 13 — Class Actions
Daniel R. Campbell and Ian McKay, McDermott Will & Emery, Chicago
